A young Saudi woman is barricaded in a hotel room in the Thai capital as her family try and force her return to the strict religious conditions that apply to women in that desert kingdom. She was a reluctant member of a family holiday party visiting Kuwait when she escaped and began a journey to Australia where she intended to seek political asylum.
She was a transit passenger when her plane landed in Thailand and she claims she was forcibly removed and her passport confiscated by a Saudi official. She has been told she will be put on an aircraft and returned to Kuwait and if that happens she fears that the family " honour " system that prevails in her home country will result in her death.
Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun is eighteen years old and an adult in the eyes of the international community. She claims her passport contains an Australian entry visa and this is not disputed by Canberra. It seems fairly evident that she is rebelling against the laws and customs that prevail in Saudi Arabia in relation to the freedom of women.
Qunun makes a compelling case when interviewed by Thai human rights workers. She claims to have been locked in her room for six months when she had her hair cut against her family's wishes. She is forced to pray and wear a hijab and her reluctance to abide by religious convention has resulted in her brother beating her. She is an independent minded young woman who seems determined to make a new life in Australia.
Perhaps her best chance of a favourable outcome is the fact that her plight has made world headlines. Feminist movements will spring to her aid and questions are being asked in international circles, questioning how Saudi officials could have been allowed to enter restricted areas of a Thai airport and physically seize her passport. This will be compared to a Chinese woman recently taken off a transit flight in Canada and served with an American extradition order.
Australia is not involved in this scrimmage. It is a fight between the Saudi's, Kuwait and Thailand over what law applies to transit passengers and whether this young woman has the legal right to continue her journey unhindered. No doubt this will rekindle memories of an event last year when Dina Ali Lasloom found herself in a similar position in Manila. In that case, she was bundled onto a plane and returned to Saudi Arabia - and has been unheard of since.
If Qunun does make it to Australia her plea for political asylum will no doubt stir trouble in our political arena. Her rebellion against being forced to follow Islamic tradition will not go down well with some Islamists here and she could become an IS target. If she is granted asylum a name change would be provident.
No comments:
Post a Comment