Fleeing Saudi Arabia: Asylum seeker numbers triple

The number of asylum seekers from Saudi Arabia has tripled, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The UN agency announced that there were more than 800 cases reported in 2017, while there were less than 200 in 2012, according to World News.

A number of Saudi men and women have reportedly fled the kingdom due to fear of persecution or retaliation against them for political activism.

The recent case of Saudi teenager Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun who was granted refuge in Canada has drawn international attention.

Rahaf, who was granted asylum after fleeing her family and barricading herself in a hotel room, hopes that her story encourages other Saudi women – and many are apparently starting to listen.

The young woman who fled her parent's custody last week gave her first TV interview last Tuesday, where she highlighted the “abuse and oppression” Saudi women face as a result of the country’s strict laws and customs.

“Women can’t even travel on their own, they’re treated like children even if they’re 50 or 60 years-old, they aren’t free or equal to their male counter-parts,” Rahaf lamented.

She believes she is not the only woman fleeing the Kingdom and hopes her example encourages others to be “brave and free”, perhaps even serving as a catalyst for broad social change.

Her words come days after media reports surfaced showing that a growing number of women are threatening exodus from Saudi Arabia in opposition to the country’s guardianship laws.

According to the reports, a hashtag which translates to “remove the guardianship system or we’ll all migrate”, began trending on Twitter in Saudi Arabia. Some users explicitly cited Rahaf’s example as their inspiration.

The battle over the “change” Rahaf al-Qunun hopes to inspire is already being waged on social media, where the case has sparked both fierce animosity and hope. Her spokesperson has even alleged that Rahaf has received open threats online.

EA