Rebel: My escape from Saudi Arabia to freedom
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- Create Date：2022-04-04 04:51:34
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Rahaf Mohammed
- ISBN：1760984981
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Summary
In January 2019， then 18-year-old Saudi woman Rahaf Mohammed escaped from her family while holidaying in Kuwait。
She was fleeing systematic abuse of her human rights as a woman growing up in Saudi Arabia and， specifically， her family's threats to kill her because she desired the freedoms Western women take for granted。
She boarded a plane bound for Bangkok， en route to Australia where she intended to seek asylum。 But on her arrival the Thai authorities， acting on the instructions of Saudi officials， detained Rahaf with the aim of returning her to her family。 Knowing this would mean her death， Rahaf barricaded herself in an airport hotel room and appealed for help through social media， creating a Twitter storm and capturing the attention of government leaders， human rights advocates and media around the world。
Rahaf was eventually taken under the protection of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and granted refugee status。 When Australian authorities failed to respond with the urgency the situation required， she was granted asylum in Canada。 Seven days after her ordeal began， she arrived in Toronto to begin a new life。
Rebel is a passionate story by a woman who refused to allow a system to define who she was and what she could be。 It shines a light on the rampant and dangerous inequalities that persist in Saudi society， and inspires women everywhere to dream of a better future for themselves， and their daughters。
Praise for Rebel:
'Rebel makes it clear that the cultural honour/shame dynamic and the male guardianship system continue to weigh heavily on the daily lives of Saudi women 。。。 Rahaf ultimately fled the Kingdom， under cover of darkness by the skin of her teeth， in order to spread her wings。' - Ayaan Hirsi Ali， author of Infidel
'The astonishing story of how one incredibly courageous teenager took on Saudi Arabia's archaic male guardianship system and won！ An inspiring read that will leave you shaking with fury， and then cheering in solidarity。' - Sophie McNeill， Human Rights Watch
She was fleeing systematic abuse of her human rights as a woman growing up in Saudi Arabia and， specifically， her family's threats to kill her because she desired the freedoms Western women take for granted。
She boarded a plane bound for Bangkok， en route to Australia where she intended to seek asylum。 But on her arrival the Thai authorities， acting on the instructions of Saudi officials， detained Rahaf with the aim of returning her to her family。 Knowing this would mean her death， Rahaf barricaded herself in an airport hotel room and appealed for help through social media， creating a Twitter storm and capturing the attention of government leaders， human rights advocates and media around the world。
Rahaf was eventually taken under the protection of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and granted refugee status。 When Australian authorities failed to respond with the urgency the situation required， she was granted asylum in Canada。 Seven days after her ordeal began， she arrived in Toronto to begin a new life。
Rebel is a passionate story by a woman who refused to allow a system to define who she was and what she could be。 It shines a light on the rampant and dangerous inequalities that persist in Saudi society， and inspires women everywhere to dream of a better future for themselves， and their daughters。
Praise for Rebel:
'Rebel makes it clear that the cultural honour/shame dynamic and the male guardianship system continue to weigh heavily on the daily lives of Saudi women 。。。 Rahaf ultimately fled the Kingdom， under cover of darkness by the skin of her teeth， in order to spread her wings。' - Ayaan Hirsi Ali， author of Infidel
'The astonishing story of how one incredibly courageous teenager took on Saudi Arabia's archaic male guardianship system and won！ An inspiring read that will leave you shaking with fury， and then cheering in solidarity。' - Sophie McNeill， Human Rights Watch
Reviews
Mindy Lewis
，
Loved it！ Heartbreaking and empowering story。 I enjoyed learning about her story。
Johanna
，
Så viktig bok！ Dessa historier måste berättas！ Världen måste vakna！！！ Modigt och informativt om en ung tjejs flykt från förtrycket i Saudiarabien。 Alla borde läsa denna！
chantel nouseforaname
，
This courageous young woman’s story reminds me why I don’t fuck with organized religion at all。 I can’t imagine the pain of growing up with that level of state sanctioned violence against all women centralized in one area。 Nowhere to turn， no relief unless you risk your life to find your way out the country。 It hurts my heart on levels。 Reading this memoir， the trauma she must have experienced reliving this story and telling a story undoubtably relatable to many， many women and LGBTQIA+ peoples This courageous young woman’s story reminds me why I don’t fuck with organized religion at all。 I can’t imagine the pain of growing up with that level of state sanctioned violence against all women centralized in one area。 Nowhere to turn， no relief unless you risk your life to find your way out the country。 It hurts my heart on levels。 Reading this memoir， the trauma she must have experienced reliving this story and telling a story undoubtably relatable to many， many women and LGBTQIA+ peoples who are living under these restrictive， oppressive and dire circumstances， was intense。 I’m proud of her for shining the light on this situation and similar situations surrounding the Saudis such as the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and the disappearance of another woman who attempted to escape， Dina Ali。 The benevolence of the God that created this entire universe， can’t possibly want that oppressive existence for anyone， no matter what white folks say， no matter what Saudis say。 There are always gonna be people fighting against oppression。 Fuck everything else。 It’s the hypocrisy of the men and the culture for me。 The fact that there’s so much abuse and sexual assault present in this story。 God can’t possibly have wanted that experience for anyone。 I’m so glad Rahaf fought her way to Canada。 My heart hurts for all that she’s lost and it rejoices for all that she is gaining and will gain！ I wish for her freedom for all the women around the world。 。。。more
Susan
，
Very repetitive indeed。 This book should have been edited by 50%， minimum。 The story could have been told much more concisely。
Rita
，
Rahaf is no doubt an amazing woman for making her escape possible。 Reading this was not， however， the inspirational work I was expecting。 It focused largely on her life in Saudi Arabia and not much on her actual escape。 But I’m grateful to have learned what I did about Saudi， even if it was vulgar and hard to read at points。
Gina
，
Was such a great read and a really sad and heartbreaking insight into the true life of so many girls and women who live in Saudi Arabia。 Really opened my eyes to see how lucky we are to live in a country where I could never even dream of these types of things happening。 This book really reeled me in and I finished it in a couple of days and was so hooked in I was researching all the other women she mentions in the book。 Such a sad story but so great that rahaf gets to speak out on it and hopeful Was such a great read and a really sad and heartbreaking insight into the true life of so many girls and women who live in Saudi Arabia。 Really opened my eyes to see how lucky we are to live in a country where I could never even dream of these types of things happening。 This book really reeled me in and I finished it in a couple of days and was so hooked in I was researching all the other women she mentions in the book。 Such a sad story but so great that rahaf gets to speak out on it and hopefully help so many other women obtain their freedom。 Will be recommending this book to everyone and anyone。 。。。more
Felix Musamadya
，
In nearly 300 pages of simple but effective prose， Rahaf Mohammed turns her journey into one that vast numbers of women in Saudi Arabia will relate to。 There is nothing pretentious about her writing， and nor does there need to be。 Lifting the veil on the repression of women – even in upper-middle-class families such as hers – is rare in the kingdom， a place in which dissent， towards the state and family structures， is not tolerated。Mohammed brings alive her austere classrooms， the rages of her d In nearly 300 pages of simple but effective prose， Rahaf Mohammed turns her journey into one that vast numbers of women in Saudi Arabia will relate to。 There is nothing pretentious about her writing， and nor does there need to be。 Lifting the veil on the repression of women – even in upper-middle-class families such as hers – is rare in the kingdom， a place in which dissent， towards the state and family structures， is not tolerated。Mohammed brings alive her austere classrooms， the rages of her domineering brothers， the desires of girls like her and the sorrow of such oppression。 Her story is that of many more without a voice who cannot rise above their circumstances。 She speaks for them in a dignified， raw manner。 From a new home in Canada， disowned by her Saudi family， Mohammed is living the life she more or less wants。 She misses her family， though， and cannot return to the kingdom。 The threats she fled from remain real now。Saudi Arabia， meanwhile， for all its talk of female empowerment and rule of law， still has a long way to go。 This book may help things along 。。。more
Laura
，
The issues are important and the story is powerful。 Unfortunately， the book is incredibly repetitive。
noor
，
incredibly heart wrenching book， absolutely devastating to see what she had to go through。 things in saudi arabia are even far worse than i thought， i mean i knew it was bad – but *this* bad？ my heart is aching for the women there， to those who couldn’t escape like rahaf managed to。 to those who fell victim to a system that should protect them。 to those who couldn’t use their voice。i am so glad rahaf is safe in canada today， she finally got her freedom and for that i am so very happy。
Estay Cazares
，
This was one of the best books I have ever read。 It can be disturbing at times but it was necessary for the author to be graphic to show just how dangerous life is for women in Saudi Arabia。 I think that everyone should read this book
Sofia Ekstam
，
Jag var fastklistrad vid Twitter då den saudiska tonåringen Rahaf Mohammed barrikaderade sig på ett thailändskt flygplatshotell och via ett nyöppnat twitterkonto försökte väcka FN:s uppmärksamhet。 Saudiska agenter bankade på dörren medan Mohammed ansökte om asyl inför sin växande skara av twitterföljare。 Jag minns den olustiga känslan av att bevittna ett avsnitt av The Handmaid’s Tale i realtid。 Jag kände en liknande lättnad när Kanada slutligen beviljade Rahaf asyl som när karaktären Moira efte Jag var fastklistrad vid Twitter då den saudiska tonåringen Rahaf Mohammed barrikaderade sig på ett thailändskt flygplatshotell och via ett nyöppnat twitterkonto försökte väcka FN:s uppmärksamhet。 Saudiska agenter bankade på dörren medan Mohammed ansökte om asyl inför sin växande skara av twitterföljare。 Jag minns den olustiga känslan av att bevittna ett avsnitt av The Handmaid’s Tale i realtid。 Jag kände en liknande lättnad när Kanada slutligen beviljade Rahaf asyl som när karaktären Moira efter en lång flykt från Gilead beträder kanadensisk mark och trygghet。 Det kändes overkligt att gränsen mellan spekulativ fiktion och verklighet var så tunn， även om jag naturligtvis var medveten om att det finns många paralleller。 Mohammeds flykt grabbade tag i mig och gav verklighetens version ett ansikte。 I Rebel berättar Mohammed om hur hon förberedde flykten i flera år， varvat med skildringar av det förtryck från samhälle och familj som till sist fick henne att riskera livet för att slå sig fri。 Jag förfäras， frustreras och förbannas över den ofattbara verklighet som hon vittnar om。 Men jag känner också stolthet över hennes orubbliga övertygelse om att hon， och alla andra flickor och kvinnor， är värda mer än vad den saudiska samhällsordningen anser。 Vilken styrka， vilket mod， vilken tjej。 。。。more
Oliwia
，
Przykre jest to co się dzieje kobietom na świecie。
Desiree
，
Just wow ！！！！！ I realized things were bad in Saudi Arabia but I have no words 。 Thankyou for writing this book and sharing your story ， no doubt it was hard for you 。 Women must support women especially those that can’t speak for themselves。 Welcome to Canada 🇨🇦
Fati
，
Repetitive。 Was hoping she’d talk about her current life in Canada but it makes sense that she chose not to， nothing is inspiring about having a daughter and lying to someone about the paternity and then abandoning that baby to become OnlyFans famous for creating content to people with incest fetish。 Save your money and read her story online。
Petra X's robot vacuum cleaner has gone rogue
，
As you might have an app to tell you where your phone is， or your car， should you lose it， so do Saudi men have one to track the women they own。 The author had her first phone at age ten， at 18 she writes， "I knew that once they figured out I'd run away， my parents would track my trip and monitor my bank account with an app that men in Saudi Arabia use to trace their women。 The app， which is provided by the Saudi Ministry of the Interior and download through （view spoiler）[the immoral， and evil As you might have an app to tell you where your phone is， or your car， should you lose it， so do Saudi men have one to track the women they own。 The author had her first phone at age ten， at 18 she writes， "I knew that once they figured out I'd run away， my parents would track my trip and monitor my bank account with an app that men in Saudi Arabia use to trace their women。 The app， which is provided by the Saudi Ministry of the Interior and download through （view spoiler）[the immoral， and evil （hide spoiler）] Google Play Store or （view spoiler）[equally immoral and evil （hide spoiler）] Apple App Store， alerts the man if a woman uses her phone， her passport or her credit cards。"The whole of the story of Rahat's childhood is one of suppressing a playful child into one who is praised for looking sad and downcast and is quiet whilst watching through never-opened windows her brothers play with their bikes， in the pool or cooking on a bbq in the garden。 This is truly the evil empire， but Prince Charles has made 27 private visits to visit Saudi Royalty and all the world ignores how the women are like prisoners with ankle bracelets for the sake of oil。 I know that these books where a girl runs away from a fundamentalist sect of any religion may well be exaggerated， I've certainly read some ridiculously over-the-top accounts， but this one feels authentic。 It doesn't blame， it just tells you how it is。 。。。more
Raquel
，
Wrote about this for the NY Post: https://nypost。com/2022/03/08/runaway。。。 Wrote about this for the NY Post: https://nypost。com/2022/03/08/runaway。。。 。。。more
Qurratulain
，