Woman who fled Saudi Arabia reaches her new home in Canada (2025)

TORONTO — Tired but smiling, an 18-year-old Saudi woman who said she feared death if deported back home arrived Saturday in Canada, which offered her asylum in a case that attracted global attention after she mounted a social media campaign.

“This is Rahaf Alqunun, a very brave new Canadian,” Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said arm-in-arm with the Saudi woman in Toronto’s airport.

Woman who fled Saudi Arabia reaches her new home in Canada (1)

Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun (C) accompanied by Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland (R) and Saba Abbas, general counsellor of COSTI refugee service agency, arrives at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Ontario, Canada January 12, 2019. Photo by Carlos Osorio/Reuters

Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun smiled broadly as she exited an airport arrival door sporting a Canada zipper hoodie and a U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees hat, capping a dramatic week that saw her flee her family while visiting Kuwait and before flying to Bangkok. Once there, she barricaded herself in an airport hotel to avoid deportation and tweeted about her situation.

On Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada would accept Alqunun as a refugee. Her situation has highlighted the cause of women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, where several women fleeing abuse by their families have been caught trying to seek asylum abroad in recent years and returned home.

Freeland said Alqunun preferred not to take questions Saturday.

“She is obviously very tired after a long journey and she preferred to go and get settled,” Freeland said. “But it was Rahaf’s choice to come out and say hello to Canadians. She wanted Canadians to see that she’s here, that she’s well and that she’s very happy to be in her new home.”

After arriving she was off to get winter clothes, said Mario Calla, executive director of COSTI Immigrant Services, which is helping her settle in temporary housing and applying for a health card.

Calla said Alqunun has friends in Toronto who she would be meeting up with this weekend.

“She did comment to me about the cold,” Freeland said.

“It does get warmer,” Freeland said she told her.

Alqunun flew to Toronto via Seoul, South Korea, according to Thai immigration Police Chief Surachate Hakparn. Alqunun tweeted two pictures from her plane seat — one with what appears to be a glass of wine and her passport and another holding her passport while on the plane with the hashtag “I did it” and the emojis showing a plane, hearts and a wine glass.

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Canada’s decision to grant her asylum could further upset the country’s relations with Saudi Arabia.

In August, Saudi Arabia expelled Canada’s ambassador to the kingdom and withdrew its own ambassador after Canada’s Foreign Ministry tweeted support for women’s right activists who had been arrested. The Saudis also sold Canadian investments and ordered their citizens studying in Canada to leave.

Freeland avoided an answer when asked what Alqunun’s case would mean to Saudi-Canadian relations.

There was no immediate Saudi government reaction, nor any mention of her arrival in state media. But a Saudi government-sanctioned body, the National Society for Human Rights, said it deplores the methods used by some foreign officials and organizations to “incite” some young Saudi females to disobey their families and leave the country.

In a statement late Saturday, the group’s director, Muftal al-Qahtani, slammed alleged political motives of some countries and said attempts to encourage these women to disobey their families leaves some vulnerable to abuse and trafficking, and harms families. Al-Qahtani insisted women facing abuse in the kingdom can turn to Saudi authorities and local organizations for assistance.

Freeland said that the U.N. refugee agency found Alqunun was in danger in Thailand and that Canada’s government is glad it was able to act quickly to offer her refuge.

It is unbearable to think that the Thai government may well deport Rahaf Mohammed Mutlaq Alqunun back to Saudi Arabia.
If Saudi guardianship laws applied to men, rather than to women, no government in the world would do business with them.https://t.co/gfID0Mx3D9

— KateMaltby (@KateMaltby) January 6, 2019

As UNHCR considers the future of young Saudi woman Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun in Thailand, the brother and father she believes will kill her if returned to Saudi, have arrived in Bangkok. Meanwhile Thai immigration chief reiterated her case is a “family matter”.

— amanda hodge (@hodgeamanda) January 8, 2019

Alqunun’s father arrived in Bangkok on Tuesday, but his daughter refused to meet with him.

Several other countries, including Australia, had been in talks with the U.N.’s refugee agency to accept Alqunun, Surachate said.

“She chose Canada. It’s her personal decision,” he said.

Australian media reported that UNHCR had withdrawn its referral for Alqunun to be resettled in Australia because Canberra was taking too long to decide on her asylum.

“When referring cases with specific vulnerabilities who need immediate resettlement, we attach great importance to the speed at which countries consider and process cases,” a UNHCR spokesperson in Bangkok told The Associated Press in an email reply on condition of anonymity because the person wasn’t authorized to discuss the case publicly.

“Why did Rahaf go to Canada instead of her preferred choice of Australia where she had friends?” Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth said in a tweet. “Because she needed safety from her Saudi pursuers fast, and Canada expedited her case while Australia slow-walked it.”

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Canada’s ambassador saw her off at the airport, where Alqunun thanked everyone for helping her. She plans to start learning more English, though she already speaks it more than passably.

Alqunun was stopped Jan. 5 at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport by immigration police who denied her entry and seized her passport.

She barricaded herself in an airport hotel room where her social media campaign got enough public and diplomatic support that Thai officials admitted her temporarily under the protection of U.N. officials, who granted her refugee status Wednesday.

Surachate said her father — whose name has not been released — denied physically abusing Alqunun or trying to force her into an arranged marriage, which were among the reasons she gave for her flight. He said Alqunun’s father wanted his daughter back but respected her decision.

“He has 10 children. He said the daughter might feel neglected sometimes,” Surachate said.

UNHCR spokeswoman Lauren La Rose said the fact she was processed so quickly is a credit to those that made it happen.

“This is someone who was clearly in harm’s way, who clearly felt her life with her threatened, and my colleagues in concert with governments in Thailand and Canada recognized that need,” she said

Associated Press video journalist David Martin in Toronto and AP writers Tassanee Vejpongsa in Bangkok and Aya Btrawy in Subai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.

Woman who fled Saudi Arabia reaches her new home in Canada (2025)

FAQs

Woman who fled Saudi Arabia reaches her new home in Canada? ›

Woman Who Fled Saudi Arabia Reaches Her New Home in Canada

Did Saudi woman flee to Canada? ›

Rahaf Mohammed (formerly Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun) in Toronto on Jan. 14, 2019, after she was granted asylum. After three years of planning, Rahaf Mohammed of Saudi Arabia fled her family while on a vacation in Kuwait.

What is Rahaf Mohammed doing now? ›

In 2021, she announced on her Instagram page that she was starting an OnlyFans account. In 2022, she released her first book, titled Rebel: My Escape From Saudi Arabia to Freedom.

Who is the American woman divorced from Saudi husband is trapped in Saudi Arabia? ›

In 2019, Carly Morris and her daughter Tala were stuck in the Gulf kingdom after her Saudi ex-husband persuaded the two to visit the country. Just a few months ago, Morris was able to return to the US but was forced to leave Tala behind following a custody dispute.

What happened to Rahaf al Qunun? ›

A Saudi woman who fled her family and became stranded at Bangkok's main airport is flying to Canada after being granted asylum status.

Can a Saudi man marry an American woman? ›

Art. 6 allows the marriage between a Saudi national and a non-Saudi national on the condition that the latter is not undesirable for reasons relating to his/her personality or nationality or religion. This includes individuals who hold beliefs not approved by Islamic Sharia'.

Is Girls of Riyadh true story? ›

The book, which isn't available in English, is told in the form of weekly e-mails from a female narrator to Internet subscribers in Saudi Arabia. It portrays four women whose stories are based on true-life ones that al Sanie says she has heard at weddings, in school and at women's gatherings.

Why did Rahaf Mohammed run away? ›

She was 18 and running away from her abusive family and oppressive life in Ha'il, Saudi Arabia. She had planned to continue travelling from Thailand to Australia, where she intended to claim asylum, but was intercepted at the Bangkok airport by a man who claimed he needed her passport to help with her visa application.

What happened to Dua and Dalal? ›

Dua and Dalal is still in Turkey fighting to not be returned to a slavelike life in Saudiarabia, Gilead. Their twitteraccount can be found if you swipe to pic two. 💔

When was Rahaf Mohammed born? ›

Rahaf Mohammad رهف محمد

A Kuwaiti actress, who was born on February 9, 2003. She started acting as a child and appeared in many works with leading Gulf actors.

Do Saudis marry more than one wife? ›

Polygamy. Polygamy is legal in Saudi Arabia, whereby a man may have up to four wives. However, a man is only allowed to take multiple wives if he can meet certain conditions under shari'a law. For example, he must have the financial capacity to afford another marriage and provide for another wife and her family.

Can a man beat his wife in Saudi Arabia? ›

In August 2013, the Saudi cabinet approved a law making domestic violence a criminal offence for the first time. The law calls for a punishment of up to a year in prison and a fine of up to 50,000 riyals (US$13,000). The maximum punishments can be doubled for repeat offenders.

Is it illegal to cheat on your spouse in Saudi Arabia? ›

Southwest Asia. In Southwest Asia, adultery has attracted severe sanctions, including the death penalty. In some places, such as Saudi Arabia, the method of punishment for adultery is stoning to death.

Who is the Saudi girl asylum in Canada? ›

Canada will grant asylum to an 18-year-old Saudi woman who fled to Thailand to escape her allegedly abusive family, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday. Rahaf Al-Qunun will head to Toronto, with a stopover in Seoul, said Thailand's Immigration Police Chief Surachate Hakparn.

Did Saudi girl come to Canada? ›

TORONTO — Tired but smiling, an 18-year-old Saudi runaway who said she feared death if deported back home arrived Saturday in Canada, which had offered her asylum in a case that attracted global attention after she mounted a social media campaign.

What happened to Yasser Al Sharani? ›

He was part of their 2–1 victory over Argentina in the first match, when he collided with his keeper and suffered fractured jaw, facial bones and teeth, and needed rapid surgery due to internal bleeding.

What happened between Canada and Saudi Arabia? ›

Since 2018, bilateral relations have gradually soured since a high-profile diplomatic spat began over the Canadian government's public condemnation of the Saudi government's human rights abuses.

What happened to the Saudi sisters? ›

Investigators believe they died in early May and the autopsies reportedly found toxins in their body that pointed to suicide, a police source speculated to Sky News. The case is now with the NSW Coroner. (NSW Police declined to comment to marie claire.)

Who are the two Saudi sisters who escaped? ›

ISTANBUL — Dua and Dalal AlShowaiki spent five years planning their escape from Saudi Arabia. In early June, they finally had their chance during a family vacation in Istanbul.

How many refugees did Canada accept from Syria? ›

44,620 Syrian refugees have arrived in Canada since November 4, 2015. Our missions overseas continue to process Syrian refugee cases as quickly as possible.

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