Unfortunately, not all people believe that everyone should have the right to decide what to do with their own lives. A young woman became the victim of online abuse after she showed before-and-after pictures of herself wearing a niqab vs. her wearing a bikini.
Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun escaped from her abusive family Saudi Arabian family, renounced Islam, became an atheist, and now lives in Canada. She now celebrates being “a free woman” and not being “forced to wear black sheets and being controlled by men.”
While there were many people cyberbullying 19-year-old Rahaf, the woman also had lots of supporters online as well.
More info: Twitter
Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun posted before-and-after pictures comparing her life in Saudi Arabia and in Canada
Image credits: rahaf84427714
Image credits: rahaf84427714
Image credits: rahaf84427714
There were lots of people who insulted Rahaf for these pictures
Image credits: rahaf84427714
Rahaf ran away from her family in January 2019 when they were in Kuwait. She then flew to Bangkok but was denied entry: her passport was seized and her story went viral under the hashtag #SaveRahaf.
“They threaten to kill me and prevent me from continuing my education. They won’t let me drive or travel. I am oppressed. I love life and work and I am very ambitious but my family is preventing me from living,” she said about her family members.
The young woman ran away from her family when they were in Kuwait
Image credits: rahaf84427714
Image credits: rahaf84427714
Image credits: rahaf84427714
Image credits: rahaf84427714
Image credits: rahaf84427714
Image credits: rahaf84427714
Canada welcomed Rahaf with open arms after she ran away from her abusive family
Image credits: CTVToronto
Image credits: rahaf84427714
Rahaf received UN protection and was granted asylum in Canada. The country’s prime minister Justin Trudeau himself stated that Canada would welcome her.
Here’s a video that goes into more detail about Rahaf’s plight
Al Jazeera writes that Rahaf was abused by her family since she was 16 years old. Rahaf hoped that her story would empower other Saudi Arabian women to be “brave and free” and run away from their families just as she did.
“I was exposed to physical violence, persecution, oppression, threats to be killed,” she said. “I felt that I could not achieve my dreams that I wanted as long as I was still living in Saudi Arabia.”
“It’s daily oppression. We are treated as an object, like a slave. We could not make decisions about what we want.”
Rahaf had plans to learn English, go back to school, and find a job in Canada.
Lots of people showed their support for Rahaf
Image credits: MusicMelbMary
Image credits: Maribellacy
Image credits: mashaal1saif
Image credits: luisalonsoramos
Here’s even more people showing their support
The burka and the niqab : invented by men so they wouldn't get horny by looking at women, forced upon the women by telling them "if you don't cover up you are a whore." And than there are people standing up for the "right" of women to wear it and protesting "this infringement on an ancient culture" when governements banned them in certain places. SMH.
Men who force this are telling that world that they are too stupid and weak to keep their d***s in their pants.
Load More Replies...I'm so happy that she was able to escape and get asylum and never ceases to amaze me when I hear stories of women escaping theses kinds of situations. I don't understand how any woman that considers herself a feminist can support women being forced wear a Hijab or a Burkah. Women do not choose to wear them, they are forced and most (if not all) of them are abused because it. Some of them are killed for leaving Islam or trying to escape from their country and families.
Many women choose to wear a hijab. Not all are forced to. I wasn't. It all depends on what you believe. I chose to wear a hijab as a teenager. It was my decision. It gives me a sense of identity. I do not at all feel oppressed. I'm married and have an education. My husband actually encourages me to go back to school to get my master's degree. Islam is a beautiful religion that actually supports women's rights, especially to get an education. It's really sad when some people carry out horrible attacks on innocent people in the name of Islam. Islam is very much against it. These horrible people twist around the words of the Quran to justify their actions. Sadly, in some countries, men use that thinking and try to assert their control over women. True Muslims are 100% against these people and their actions. I hope that clears up some misconceptions that people might have about Islam.❤
Load More Replies...what kind of monsters are bullying this lovely girl because she decided to take her own life in her hands, and live as any normal free girl in the world, instead of being fully covered all her life and not able to make most of decisions about her own life? How would you, who hate her, like to be covered in dark, heavy cloth all your life, and to be told by others how you should live? But when a year ago on BP I dared to write that I find burkini extremely uncomfortable, as a woman, and possibly not healthy (dark, wet clothes on heat, duh!) I was attacked by snoflakes here that I am racist. Please, I just don't want anyone to suffer, for any religion or customs. That's all!
Upvote 1000x. Even if you can't appreciate this woman's INCREDIBLE bravery (I'm sure as a coddled white american male I can't even imagine how difficult and terrifying her escape was), this story and those like it need to be spread far and wide, both as encouragement for those still oppressed and as a message to the oppressors. I wish I could give her a hug. Or maybe just a handshake, to avoid the "creep" factor.
WILL PEOPLE STOP APOLOGISING FOR BEING WHITE!!
Load More Replies...And then here in the good old United States, women are still fighting for the right to have an abortion and comprehensive health care, equal pay, and the ability to go about our lives without the fear of being raped because we were drunk, wore certain clothing, or
I can see that the comment section is a little divided so I have something to say that might help: All religions have their rules of how things are supposed to operate. Then you have people who interpret religion in their own way and use their way to oppress people. I am sure that there are Muslim women who choose to wear the hijab, just like there are Christians that choose to not go to Sunday services. That doesn't take away their feelings towards their faith. Some places in this world have decided that they can use religion to justify oppressing people. This young lady did a very brave thing by escaping from her abusive and controlling family. So have young women who were raised in the FLDS. They were raised in a Christian religion, but they were still oppressed. Any religion can oppress people and any religion can allow freedom.
And it’s just an indictment of religion as a whole, IMO. It’s a tool to dictate arbitrary “morality” and control people; always was.
Load More Replies...I'm happy this girl has the life she wanted. If her family abused her, that's a family issue and it's absolutely horrible and sad. Any family like that is a tragedy. Many regions in the world are quite backwards and overly focused on women to compensate any problems in society and often there are many of them. That's the case for Christians, Muslims, Jews, and so on... I'm Muslim, always have been, I love my beautiful family, I wear what I want, I can post a picture on the beach, in the swimming pool, I pray, I fast, I wear a scarf when the need asks for it (funeral, going to the mosque, praying), I have gay friends, I live on my own, I earn my own money, I know more than any of my male colleagues. I have all the freedom in the world, so do my sisters, brother, mom and dad. What vexes me each and every time is how little people know about our religion or about people in general. I'm Muslim, but I have my own culture, I'm whiter than the so called Caucasians. I'm literally from the Caucasian region on which this 'name' was inspired on... People will praise this girl and let everyone know how 'evil' Muslims are and so on.
It’s not a family problem. It’s a cultural problem. If the culture promotes abuse as normal, and uses religion as the tool to carry out that abuse, the family carries it out. YOUR culture isn’t this way and that’s great. It doesn’t mean that religion (all religion) isn’t constantly used to control people. That’s its whole function. You being happy and free is no more a justification of religion than you think this woman’s horrible experiences are a condemnation of religion.
Load More Replies...Honestly, it's the 21st century. Why do people still think it's okay to treat women unequally?
How Terribly Unfortunate, because there is indisputable link between animal cruelty and violence against humans, especially physically weaker humans. Show me a religion which supports animal rights? Religion equals oppression. Religions do not worship God, they play God. They teach that God is good and just, yet they commit atrocities in His/Her/Its name. They set up the rules, not God. They do not allow free thinking, let alone free will, yet, people blindly, freely follow.
Load More Replies...I hope she hasn't painted a target on herself. I am so impressed by her drive to live her own life. I once said how repressive the Saudi garb for women is, and was corrected that they feel protected and safe in it. Perhaps some, but not all. Even the weight and heat of these would put the wearer at a disadvantage. It's not only coverage, it's control. I'm disturbed that so many remarks, above, comment on her beauty. She is beautiful, but hopefully that was not her impetus to emigrate.
I'm sorry, but lots of people are solely focused on what you want to see. The countries that brought forth the terrorists and the extremists, are places that are torn by war for decades. That's the effect of that history. It's not a good thing in any case, but doesn't define everyone. The people hurt the most by this are Muslims and that's often forgotten. I hope to live the day that acceptance and clarity will be there again. If you know history, Muslim societies lived in peace with other cultures when 'Christians' persecuted them. We're living in a very difficult time and face so many challenges, but please don't condemn us because of a few. Fun fact: when I was in school, my teacher asked me whether I was Jewish because she thought I certainly couldn't be a Muslim without a burqa. And she had 2 Masters. That tells you all about general knowledge. This person's life is sad and I feel bad for that whole family. But, it's not the fault of thousands of innocent people who couldn't care less about a rich family. I'm just saying, generalizing is not the answer here. That only leads to discrimination and racism. Blaming a whole group is not the wisest decision, as we've seen so many times over and over again. Yes, I'm Muslim and no different from you. I have my own shortcomings and dreams and hopes. Enjoy your day. Love to all of you!!!!
Living_Shadow...no i am not kidding.in fact you can go read some facts on opendoorsusa about prosecution...here are some key facts just for the last year. Over 245 million Christians living in places where they experience high levels of persecution 4,305 Christians killed for their faith 1,847 churches and other Christian buildings attacked. 3,150 believers detained without trial, arrested, sentenced or imprisoned and most of the countries are muslim countries.i didn't make up this numbers,you can google them for yourself
Load More Replies...The US would have told her that she was a liar and forced her to go back to her family to be killed.
Load More Replies...Unpopular opinion here from a girl that lives half the time in saudi Arabia and half the time in usa. The niqab and hijab isn't required in saudi any more, there are girls going out with out their hair covered and without an abaya. Any of the women I have ever seen that do wear niqab do so by choice. They are actually very brave, they have a higher level of modesty and they know they are subject to ridicule, but they choose to do it any way. I couldn't do it. Being free is not about how naked you're allowed to be or not wearing clothes, not covering your hair. Freedom is deciding whether you want to or not. I do wear hijab and in usa I sometimes do get harassed and verbally abused because of it. So in a way I'm also fighting to be accepted of my religious attire in America. Islam is a beautiful religion that was the first in world to establish legal rights for women and for slave as well! In year 841 A lady named Fatimah made the worlds first University in Morocco meanwhile the first University for women in the west want established until 1821 and women were not allowed to teach until 1841. I don't understand why some people definition of freedom is removing the hijab, no, freedom is being able to choose if you want it or not. The Quran says there is no cumpulsion in religion. I really don't like when people assume that as a Muslim or Arab woman we are submissive and obey the command of our egotistical husband, it couldn't be farther from the truth, myself and the other Muslim and Arab women are strong, fierce and independent. I cover my hair because I want to, it was my choice nobody asked me or forced me. There is a Hadith that says when our prophet pbuh was traveling with his cousin AL fadl ibn abbas there was a beautiful woman that stopped to ask them a question. Al fadl was staring at her, so the prophet turned his face away. He didn't admonish the woman and he didn't demand for her to cover up. He averted his cousins stare. And I'm going to add that there is alot about this woman that the western media doesn't report on by the way. Niqab and hijab is not a symbol of oppression, please stop publishing claiming as such. There are women in western countries fighting to wear it. Also in saudi Arabia there is 10+ weeks of paid maternity leave and paid paternity leave as well. In America there is NO required maternity leave. Let's be realistic here when it comes to rights for women.
How are women equal and free in a country that requires them to have a male guardian?
Load More Replies...Roll on a load of supportive comments here from exactly the same snowflakes who had a meltdown when other countries banned this robe of oppression.
The key word here is choice. Women shouldn’t be banned from or forced to wear anything.
Load More Replies...This is a great story, however, I want people to know that you can be a muslim woman and still be free. Islam does not require women to wear a burqa or a niqab. This is a choice. Islam is also not suppressive in other aspects. However, in many Middle Eastern countries, the men are too stuck to old sexist traditions and they will say some things (like a niqab) are required in Islam when they really are not. The religion is not what is at fault here, it is the people who enforced the sexist, old fasioned, extreme version on her.
I’m sure you’d like your own personal experience with your religion to be universal. It’s not. Religion has historically done WAY more damage than good. It is a tool of control, oppression, and excuse for atrocities. ALL of them.
Load More Replies...Ruhaf is so inspiring! I hope that her story will inspire other Saudi girls to stand up for what is right!
Did anyone watch the video besides me??? This whole event was terrifying! Some people in Thailand just went along with it all and nearly allowed her kidnapping back home!!! This is not about her hijab. It is about the Saudi government's requirement for her to have a Guardian for all of her life choices! She had a valid passport, travel documents and a plane ticket to Australia and some man just said "No"... This story is about Serious Human Rights Violations - and an avalanche of people looking the other way and failing her over and over!!! I'm so happy she made it out, but many others have not. They were returned to their families and are now prisoners or even killed.
Islam means peace in another language. So of course it's not going to allude to the english translation of peace. Islam was supposed to be a peaceful religion but all the radicals and extremists have trashed the name of muslims all around the globe. The original, when translated correctly, teaches to live peacefully among others, no matter what the differences in their beliefs are.
Load More Replies...God I hate posts like these. I'm a muslim and I'm happy for this girl, but all the Islamophobes pounce on this sort of thing. I want the Islamophobes to realize that they're such lambs. In every political era, there was a "bad guy". In the cold war era, it was the Russians so you had Xenophobia. In WW2, there was also Japanese hatred. Back in the Civil war era, there is no word that ends with "phobia" to describe the hatred towards blacks, but it was a similar thing. In every time, there is a "bad guy" depending on the political situation. And time and time again, it has been seen how evil and cruel and misplaced the hatred was. And time and time again, we hate, yet another culture. Our "villians" of the time are muslims. Some have learnt from our past mistakes and realized that not all muslims are terrorists. That the terrorists and extremists harm other, innocent muslims the most.
That Islam has circumstances which has caused it stay behind and not progress in areas like women's rights. The reason it's stuck in the old world is corrupt governments, lack of money, strong attachment to old wives tales and superstitions, and lack of adequate education. The Islamic world is torn apart in itself, with the younger generation and the educated trying to progress and the older ones sticking to harsh rules, like this girls family. And then there are the extremists and terrorists. But what good people realize is that we are not all the same. That we are not all bad people. That our religion is complicated, and a lot of it has figurtive meanings or Arabic words that cannot be properly translated into another language. And people believe wrong things about it a lot. That God says this and that when that's not really what the religion teaches. The true version teaches love and acceptance of everyone.
Load More Replies...Why Saudi Arabia is not sanctioned for it abuse of people there I will never know .... oh wait ... I do know ... it's because it buys a lot of arms from the USA and Britain ... so it has bought its right to abuse people who live and go there.
Aww everyone is commenting how cute she looks. She is already being judged on her looks and will continue to be judged for the rest of her life. This is something Hijab tries to save us from...this obsession with looks and being judged on the same.
I love my hijab and I chose to wear it myself. Noone is going to tell me I how feel, noone is going to speak for me and noone is going to decide on my behalf whether I am free or not, whether I am I happy or not. Trying to convince me that I am oppressed for wearing hijab when I’m not, is oppressive in itself. So stop speaking on behalf on Muslim and other devout women from different religions! You are not us and you do not know anything about us. You think our modest clothing is oppressive, and I think your revealing clothing is oppressive. I am grateful my religion protects me and my family from so much. We are happy, content, hard working people and everything we do and are we owe to our religion. It is all about the perspective my friends.
As a Muslim, I am against the saudi extremism and their treatment to women there. People should know that in Islam, no man can force a woman to do anything she doesn't want to do. And this Niqab is an extreme cultural practice, not an Islamic practice. Her family sound like they really abused her and the result - she left her entire religion and ran away. Which means she never got to taste the beauty of being a Muslim. because her family only enforced and taught extreme cultural practices rather than taught the love, mercy, tolerance and dignity a muslim should show and feel. Shame on her family for this.
Why is Saudi Arabia an ally to the United States? Oh yes, the precious!!! They gots the precious! And we needs the precious!!
One thing all religions share in common is NONE of them can prove any gods exist. Why do we give so much freedom and power to influence to religions, yet in a court of law...everything is based of fact.
OMG IM SO SICK OF THIS RUBBISH AND ISLAMOPHOBIA. MUSLIMS ARE NOT BAD PEOPLE!! Stop spreading lies and hate please
This woman is not spreading islamophobia. She’s telling people about her experiences that are a direct result of the culture of a country where the state=religion allows this kind of abuse of women.
Load More Replies...Islam is an oppressive & hateful ideology. It's amazing how many snowflake SJWs support Islam when (by it's very nature) Islam goes against everything else the SJWs stand for.
Like what I said to @Chi below : You're not muslims, please stop acting as if you know what you're talking about. Your biased media sources don't count as accurate information bases, btw. Islam teaches to tolerate and respect all religions. It teaches that even people of other religons can get into heaven as long as they are good people. This is true Islam, and unfortunately, all the extremists and terrorists you see today follow such a twisted version that you don't see these beautiful truths anymore. I want you to realize that the religion is very misunderstood. But it sounds as if you're too closed off to try and understand.
Load More Replies...Sjw logic: Woman escapes from archaic religion oppression - everyone is clapping and happy af. People in belief of the same religion demand various "rights" and get offended by everything - the same clapping people rationalise their bs and stand up for them. I am confused.
It's not confusing it's about the freedom to pursue your own happiness. If you want to be Muslim you should be allowed to practice your religion freely. If you want to leave a repressive religion like Islam or Evangelical Christianity you should be free to do that as well. So called SJWs are just freedom loving Americans
Load More Replies...LOL, you're funny. You make out that it's only the Muslims that practice the above. You don't mention the lack of integration from the Polish, Irish or Chinese communities, nor do you mention the UK Polish Fraud Scandal and you failed to mention the absolute RIFE and inhumane trafficking of Chinese sex workers, oh and the Irish Traveler rape cases. You can make any religion, race, gender etc look like the worse people on the planet if you pick and choose what you report on. Stop scaremongering and present ALL the information. You just look like a right gobsh*te when you don't ;). I'm all for expressing one's opinion, and thank you for using your freedom of speech, you're not wrong, but you did miss a lot out. Food for thought.
Load More Replies...The burka and the niqab : invented by men so they wouldn't get horny by looking at women, forced upon the women by telling them "if you don't cover up you are a whore." And than there are people standing up for the "right" of women to wear it and protesting "this infringement on an ancient culture" when governements banned them in certain places. SMH.
Men who force this are telling that world that they are too stupid and weak to keep their d***s in their pants.
Load More Replies...I'm so happy that she was able to escape and get asylum and never ceases to amaze me when I hear stories of women escaping theses kinds of situations. I don't understand how any woman that considers herself a feminist can support women being forced wear a Hijab or a Burkah. Women do not choose to wear them, they are forced and most (if not all) of them are abused because it. Some of them are killed for leaving Islam or trying to escape from their country and families.
Many women choose to wear a hijab. Not all are forced to. I wasn't. It all depends on what you believe. I chose to wear a hijab as a teenager. It was my decision. It gives me a sense of identity. I do not at all feel oppressed. I'm married and have an education. My husband actually encourages me to go back to school to get my master's degree. Islam is a beautiful religion that actually supports women's rights, especially to get an education. It's really sad when some people carry out horrible attacks on innocent people in the name of Islam. Islam is very much against it. These horrible people twist around the words of the Quran to justify their actions. Sadly, in some countries, men use that thinking and try to assert their control over women. True Muslims are 100% against these people and their actions. I hope that clears up some misconceptions that people might have about Islam.❤
Load More Replies...what kind of monsters are bullying this lovely girl because she decided to take her own life in her hands, and live as any normal free girl in the world, instead of being fully covered all her life and not able to make most of decisions about her own life? How would you, who hate her, like to be covered in dark, heavy cloth all your life, and to be told by others how you should live? But when a year ago on BP I dared to write that I find burkini extremely uncomfortable, as a woman, and possibly not healthy (dark, wet clothes on heat, duh!) I was attacked by snoflakes here that I am racist. Please, I just don't want anyone to suffer, for any religion or customs. That's all!
Upvote 1000x. Even if you can't appreciate this woman's INCREDIBLE bravery (I'm sure as a coddled white american male I can't even imagine how difficult and terrifying her escape was), this story and those like it need to be spread far and wide, both as encouragement for those still oppressed and as a message to the oppressors. I wish I could give her a hug. Or maybe just a handshake, to avoid the "creep" factor.
WILL PEOPLE STOP APOLOGISING FOR BEING WHITE!!
Load More Replies...And then here in the good old United States, women are still fighting for the right to have an abortion and comprehensive health care, equal pay, and the ability to go about our lives without the fear of being raped because we were drunk, wore certain clothing, or
I can see that the comment section is a little divided so I have something to say that might help: All religions have their rules of how things are supposed to operate. Then you have people who interpret religion in their own way and use their way to oppress people. I am sure that there are Muslim women who choose to wear the hijab, just like there are Christians that choose to not go to Sunday services. That doesn't take away their feelings towards their faith. Some places in this world have decided that they can use religion to justify oppressing people. This young lady did a very brave thing by escaping from her abusive and controlling family. So have young women who were raised in the FLDS. They were raised in a Christian religion, but they were still oppressed. Any religion can oppress people and any religion can allow freedom.
And it’s just an indictment of religion as a whole, IMO. It’s a tool to dictate arbitrary “morality” and control people; always was.
Load More Replies...I'm happy this girl has the life she wanted. If her family abused her, that's a family issue and it's absolutely horrible and sad. Any family like that is a tragedy. Many regions in the world are quite backwards and overly focused on women to compensate any problems in society and often there are many of them. That's the case for Christians, Muslims, Jews, and so on... I'm Muslim, always have been, I love my beautiful family, I wear what I want, I can post a picture on the beach, in the swimming pool, I pray, I fast, I wear a scarf when the need asks for it (funeral, going to the mosque, praying), I have gay friends, I live on my own, I earn my own money, I know more than any of my male colleagues. I have all the freedom in the world, so do my sisters, brother, mom and dad. What vexes me each and every time is how little people know about our religion or about people in general. I'm Muslim, but I have my own culture, I'm whiter than the so called Caucasians. I'm literally from the Caucasian region on which this 'name' was inspired on... People will praise this girl and let everyone know how 'evil' Muslims are and so on.
It’s not a family problem. It’s a cultural problem. If the culture promotes abuse as normal, and uses religion as the tool to carry out that abuse, the family carries it out. YOUR culture isn’t this way and that’s great. It doesn’t mean that religion (all religion) isn’t constantly used to control people. That’s its whole function. You being happy and free is no more a justification of religion than you think this woman’s horrible experiences are a condemnation of religion.
Load More Replies...Honestly, it's the 21st century. Why do people still think it's okay to treat women unequally?
How Terribly Unfortunate, because there is indisputable link between animal cruelty and violence against humans, especially physically weaker humans. Show me a religion which supports animal rights? Religion equals oppression. Religions do not worship God, they play God. They teach that God is good and just, yet they commit atrocities in His/Her/Its name. They set up the rules, not God. They do not allow free thinking, let alone free will, yet, people blindly, freely follow.
Load More Replies...I hope she hasn't painted a target on herself. I am so impressed by her drive to live her own life. I once said how repressive the Saudi garb for women is, and was corrected that they feel protected and safe in it. Perhaps some, but not all. Even the weight and heat of these would put the wearer at a disadvantage. It's not only coverage, it's control. I'm disturbed that so many remarks, above, comment on her beauty. She is beautiful, but hopefully that was not her impetus to emigrate.
I'm sorry, but lots of people are solely focused on what you want to see. The countries that brought forth the terrorists and the extremists, are places that are torn by war for decades. That's the effect of that history. It's not a good thing in any case, but doesn't define everyone. The people hurt the most by this are Muslims and that's often forgotten. I hope to live the day that acceptance and clarity will be there again. If you know history, Muslim societies lived in peace with other cultures when 'Christians' persecuted them. We're living in a very difficult time and face so many challenges, but please don't condemn us because of a few. Fun fact: when I was in school, my teacher asked me whether I was Jewish because she thought I certainly couldn't be a Muslim without a burqa. And she had 2 Masters. That tells you all about general knowledge. This person's life is sad and I feel bad for that whole family. But, it's not the fault of thousands of innocent people who couldn't care less about a rich family. I'm just saying, generalizing is not the answer here. That only leads to discrimination and racism. Blaming a whole group is not the wisest decision, as we've seen so many times over and over again. Yes, I'm Muslim and no different from you. I have my own shortcomings and dreams and hopes. Enjoy your day. Love to all of you!!!!
Living_Shadow...no i am not kidding.in fact you can go read some facts on opendoorsusa about prosecution...here are some key facts just for the last year. Over 245 million Christians living in places where they experience high levels of persecution 4,305 Christians killed for their faith 1,847 churches and other Christian buildings attacked. 3,150 believers detained without trial, arrested, sentenced or imprisoned and most of the countries are muslim countries.i didn't make up this numbers,you can google them for yourself
Load More Replies...The US would have told her that she was a liar and forced her to go back to her family to be killed.
Load More Replies...Unpopular opinion here from a girl that lives half the time in saudi Arabia and half the time in usa. The niqab and hijab isn't required in saudi any more, there are girls going out with out their hair covered and without an abaya. Any of the women I have ever seen that do wear niqab do so by choice. They are actually very brave, they have a higher level of modesty and they know they are subject to ridicule, but they choose to do it any way. I couldn't do it. Being free is not about how naked you're allowed to be or not wearing clothes, not covering your hair. Freedom is deciding whether you want to or not. I do wear hijab and in usa I sometimes do get harassed and verbally abused because of it. So in a way I'm also fighting to be accepted of my religious attire in America. Islam is a beautiful religion that was the first in world to establish legal rights for women and for slave as well! In year 841 A lady named Fatimah made the worlds first University in Morocco meanwhile the first University for women in the west want established until 1821 and women were not allowed to teach until 1841. I don't understand why some people definition of freedom is removing the hijab, no, freedom is being able to choose if you want it or not. The Quran says there is no cumpulsion in religion. I really don't like when people assume that as a Muslim or Arab woman we are submissive and obey the command of our egotistical husband, it couldn't be farther from the truth, myself and the other Muslim and Arab women are strong, fierce and independent. I cover my hair because I want to, it was my choice nobody asked me or forced me. There is a Hadith that says when our prophet pbuh was traveling with his cousin AL fadl ibn abbas there was a beautiful woman that stopped to ask them a question. Al fadl was staring at her, so the prophet turned his face away. He didn't admonish the woman and he didn't demand for her to cover up. He averted his cousins stare. And I'm going to add that there is alot about this woman that the western media doesn't report on by the way. Niqab and hijab is not a symbol of oppression, please stop publishing claiming as such. There are women in western countries fighting to wear it. Also in saudi Arabia there is 10+ weeks of paid maternity leave and paid paternity leave as well. In America there is NO required maternity leave. Let's be realistic here when it comes to rights for women.
How are women equal and free in a country that requires them to have a male guardian?
Load More Replies...Roll on a load of supportive comments here from exactly the same snowflakes who had a meltdown when other countries banned this robe of oppression.
The key word here is choice. Women shouldn’t be banned from or forced to wear anything.
Load More Replies...This is a great story, however, I want people to know that you can be a muslim woman and still be free. Islam does not require women to wear a burqa or a niqab. This is a choice. Islam is also not suppressive in other aspects. However, in many Middle Eastern countries, the men are too stuck to old sexist traditions and they will say some things (like a niqab) are required in Islam when they really are not. The religion is not what is at fault here, it is the people who enforced the sexist, old fasioned, extreme version on her.
I’m sure you’d like your own personal experience with your religion to be universal. It’s not. Religion has historically done WAY more damage than good. It is a tool of control, oppression, and excuse for atrocities. ALL of them.
Load More Replies...Ruhaf is so inspiring! I hope that her story will inspire other Saudi girls to stand up for what is right!
Did anyone watch the video besides me??? This whole event was terrifying! Some people in Thailand just went along with it all and nearly allowed her kidnapping back home!!! This is not about her hijab. It is about the Saudi government's requirement for her to have a Guardian for all of her life choices! She had a valid passport, travel documents and a plane ticket to Australia and some man just said "No"... This story is about Serious Human Rights Violations - and an avalanche of people looking the other way and failing her over and over!!! I'm so happy she made it out, but many others have not. They were returned to their families and are now prisoners or even killed.
Islam means peace in another language. So of course it's not going to allude to the english translation of peace. Islam was supposed to be a peaceful religion but all the radicals and extremists have trashed the name of muslims all around the globe. The original, when translated correctly, teaches to live peacefully among others, no matter what the differences in their beliefs are.
Load More Replies...God I hate posts like these. I'm a muslim and I'm happy for this girl, but all the Islamophobes pounce on this sort of thing. I want the Islamophobes to realize that they're such lambs. In every political era, there was a "bad guy". In the cold war era, it was the Russians so you had Xenophobia. In WW2, there was also Japanese hatred. Back in the Civil war era, there is no word that ends with "phobia" to describe the hatred towards blacks, but it was a similar thing. In every time, there is a "bad guy" depending on the political situation. And time and time again, it has been seen how evil and cruel and misplaced the hatred was. And time and time again, we hate, yet another culture. Our "villians" of the time are muslims. Some have learnt from our past mistakes and realized that not all muslims are terrorists. That the terrorists and extremists harm other, innocent muslims the most.
That Islam has circumstances which has caused it stay behind and not progress in areas like women's rights. The reason it's stuck in the old world is corrupt governments, lack of money, strong attachment to old wives tales and superstitions, and lack of adequate education. The Islamic world is torn apart in itself, with the younger generation and the educated trying to progress and the older ones sticking to harsh rules, like this girls family. And then there are the extremists and terrorists. But what good people realize is that we are not all the same. That we are not all bad people. That our religion is complicated, and a lot of it has figurtive meanings or Arabic words that cannot be properly translated into another language. And people believe wrong things about it a lot. That God says this and that when that's not really what the religion teaches. The true version teaches love and acceptance of everyone.
Load More Replies...Why Saudi Arabia is not sanctioned for it abuse of people there I will never know .... oh wait ... I do know ... it's because it buys a lot of arms from the USA and Britain ... so it has bought its right to abuse people who live and go there.
Aww everyone is commenting how cute she looks. She is already being judged on her looks and will continue to be judged for the rest of her life. This is something Hijab tries to save us from...this obsession with looks and being judged on the same.
I love my hijab and I chose to wear it myself. Noone is going to tell me I how feel, noone is going to speak for me and noone is going to decide on my behalf whether I am free or not, whether I am I happy or not. Trying to convince me that I am oppressed for wearing hijab when I’m not, is oppressive in itself. So stop speaking on behalf on Muslim and other devout women from different religions! You are not us and you do not know anything about us. You think our modest clothing is oppressive, and I think your revealing clothing is oppressive. I am grateful my religion protects me and my family from so much. We are happy, content, hard working people and everything we do and are we owe to our religion. It is all about the perspective my friends.
As a Muslim, I am against the saudi extremism and their treatment to women there. People should know that in Islam, no man can force a woman to do anything she doesn't want to do. And this Niqab is an extreme cultural practice, not an Islamic practice. Her family sound like they really abused her and the result - she left her entire religion and ran away. Which means she never got to taste the beauty of being a Muslim. because her family only enforced and taught extreme cultural practices rather than taught the love, mercy, tolerance and dignity a muslim should show and feel. Shame on her family for this.
Why is Saudi Arabia an ally to the United States? Oh yes, the precious!!! They gots the precious! And we needs the precious!!
One thing all religions share in common is NONE of them can prove any gods exist. Why do we give so much freedom and power to influence to religions, yet in a court of law...everything is based of fact.
OMG IM SO SICK OF THIS RUBBISH AND ISLAMOPHOBIA. MUSLIMS ARE NOT BAD PEOPLE!! Stop spreading lies and hate please
This woman is not spreading islamophobia. She’s telling people about her experiences that are a direct result of the culture of a country where the state=religion allows this kind of abuse of women.
Load More Replies...Islam is an oppressive & hateful ideology. It's amazing how many snowflake SJWs support Islam when (by it's very nature) Islam goes against everything else the SJWs stand for.
Like what I said to @Chi below : You're not muslims, please stop acting as if you know what you're talking about. Your biased media sources don't count as accurate information bases, btw. Islam teaches to tolerate and respect all religions. It teaches that even people of other religons can get into heaven as long as they are good people. This is true Islam, and unfortunately, all the extremists and terrorists you see today follow such a twisted version that you don't see these beautiful truths anymore. I want you to realize that the religion is very misunderstood. But it sounds as if you're too closed off to try and understand.
Load More Replies...Sjw logic: Woman escapes from archaic religion oppression - everyone is clapping and happy af. People in belief of the same religion demand various "rights" and get offended by everything - the same clapping people rationalise their bs and stand up for them. I am confused.
It's not confusing it's about the freedom to pursue your own happiness. If you want to be Muslim you should be allowed to practice your religion freely. If you want to leave a repressive religion like Islam or Evangelical Christianity you should be free to do that as well. So called SJWs are just freedom loving Americans
Load More Replies...LOL, you're funny. You make out that it's only the Muslims that practice the above. You don't mention the lack of integration from the Polish, Irish or Chinese communities, nor do you mention the UK Polish Fraud Scandal and you failed to mention the absolute RIFE and inhumane trafficking of Chinese sex workers, oh and the Irish Traveler rape cases. You can make any religion, race, gender etc look like the worse people on the planet if you pick and choose what you report on. Stop scaremongering and present ALL the information. You just look like a right gobsh*te when you don't ;). I'm all for expressing one's opinion, and thank you for using your freedom of speech, you're not wrong, but you did miss a lot out. Food for thought.
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