For runaway Saudi women — to whom Saudi law grants male relatives legal guardianship even if they are adults — fleeing can be a matter of life and death, and they are almost always doing so to escape male relatives. Saudi Arabia’s charge d’affaires in Bangkok Abdullah al-Shuaibi denied Saudi authorities were involved in any way. Alqunun’s plight mirrors that of other Saudi women who have tried to flee abusive or restrictive family conditions. In some cases, Saudi authorities have been involved in forcing women to return to their families and in other cases local authorities suspect the women of seeking asylum and deport them. Saudi women runaways, however, have increasingly turned to social media to amplify their calls for help.

Source: National Post January 07, 2019 06:00 UTC