Saudi teenage girl seeking Asylum in Australia who reportedly barricaded herself in Thailand is not going to be deported back as Thai authorities earlier attempted.
Saudi Teenage Girl Seeking Asylum in Australia
18 years old Saudi teen Rahaf Muhammad-al-Qunn made news for fleeing her family in Kuwait to seek Asylum in Australia. She was held at Bangkok Airport Thailand during transit.
She had also uploaded a video on Twitter where she pleaded to seek asylum in Australia.
According to media reports, upon her arrival in Bangkok Rahaf’s passport was forcibly taken by Saudi Kuwaiti officials. She told media that a male guardian had reported about her for traveling “without his permission”.
The Saudi teenage girl was to be deported back to Saudi Arabia on January 7, but she barricaded herself in a hotel room.
The latest media reports quoted Thai immigration chief Surachate Halpern, saying that Haraf will not be forced if she didn’t want to leave. So, the girl had avoided deportation back to Kuwait or Saudi Arabia.
But a look at Rahaf’s tweets shows that she was not in touch with UN officials for so long.
Why Saudi Teenage Girl is Seeking Asylum
Rahaf is seeking asylum for reportedly suffering emotional and physical abuse at the hands of her family. She fears that her family will kill her if she went back to them.
Saudi teenage girl told AFP that she planned to seek asylum in Australia and fears that she will be killed if Thai immigration authorities repatriated her.
It is to be noted that women in Saudi Arabia have to face certain constraints. They are not allowed to travel without the permission of a guardian.
Said to be visionary Saudi crown prince Muhammad Bin Salman’s progressive policies are making waves. The women in Saudi Arabia are now finally allowed to drive. But, it seems that there is still a long way to go for the Kingdom.
Impact of Incident on Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is already facing criticism for its alleged involvement in Saudi Journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder and its mishandling of the case. Now, the case of a Saudi teenage girl fleeing her country because she fears to be killed by her family is just another incident that raises finger on Human rights situation in the country.
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