Rahaf Mohammed, the Saudi teenager who had fled home, where she said she had been “abused” by her family, has been enjoying freedom in Canada.
Mohammed, 18, was granted asylum after fleeing Saudi Arabia, where she feared being killed after being disowned by her family for not conforming to the country’s strict rules.
The 18-year-old has recently shared pictures of her new life, in which she is enjoying a glass of wine and a rolled-up cigarette. While it is unclear whether she smoked cannabis, which is legal in Canada, or tobacco, this marks a huge leap away from how smoking is viewed in Islam — the religion she has publicly renounced.
Another photo showed a Starbucks coffee cup sitting on Ms Mohammed’s lap, her legs seem to be bare from the knees down in a dress that would have broken dress code rules in Saudi Arabia.
She captioned a video of herself walking a dog with “feeling free”.
She posted to her personal Twitter account on Saturday thanking those who supported her journey out of Saudi Arabia.
“I would like to thank you people for supporting me and saving my life.
“Truly I have never dreamed of this love and support, you are the spark that motivates me to be a better person.”
The girl broke away from her Saudi family in Kuwait and flew to Bangkok, where she locked herself up in an airport hotel room after her passport had been taken away. She initially aimed to go to Australia as a refugee and sought UN protection, saying that she had been exposed to domestic physical and psychological abuse and that her family would kill her for apostasy if she were forced to return.
Mohammed’s viral plight on Twitter drew the attention of the United Nations’ refuge agency, UNHCR, which decided that her claim was valid. The Canadian government granted her asylum last week; the runaway teen dropped her last name, al-Qunun, to fully embrace the present moment.
She addressed media in Canada following her arrival, and said that her goal is to help to support the freedom of more women like herself.
“I will work in support of freedom for women around the world.
“The same freedom I experienced on the first day I arrived in Canada.”
The refugee agency helping her settle in Canada has revealed they hired a bodyguard for the teen, amid threats to her safety.
The Saudi government has issued no statement on Mohammed’s affair so far, but the National Society for Human Rights (NHSR), self-proclaimed as an independent body and branded by the US State Department as “government-funded”, said that it “was surprised by some countries’ incitement of some Saudi female delinquents to rebel against the values of their families and push them out of the country and seek to receive them under the pretext of granting them asylum”.
The post The Saudi Teen Granted Asylum In Canada Is Enjoying Her New Found Freedom By Indulging In Bacon, Drinking Wine And Smoking A Cigarette appeared first on Caveman Circus.