As Rahaf Mohammed Al Qunun arrived in Toronto to safety after a week of controversy, it might be time to talk about other oppressed women in the Middle East.
Rahaf, who fled her family and was stranded in Thailand’s airport, went to Twitter to seek help from human rights organizations and the UN and has arrived to Toronto on Saturday where she was granted asylum by the help of the UN.
Many now believe that Rahaf’s story was just the beginning of a revolution, with more women will come out seeking help for fleeing home and fearing their lives.
And it actually happened…
Few days after Rahaf started telling her story on Twitter to gain the international mainstream media attention, a Yemeni woman named Basma also went out to Twitter to seek help.
Basma, 24, who identifies herself as an ex-Muslim humanist and feminist, released a video in which she responds to people attacking her and doubting her existence. They also accused her of being part of “conspiracy theory” that aims to reflect a “distorted image” about Arab and Muslim women.
Stranded in Turkey and in danger of being killed by her father for denouncing Islam, Basma’s story started when she renounced Islam in Yemen and her father threatened to kill her which led her to leave the country through Sudan to Iran where she finally went to Turkey and now is seeking help to reach any place to stay safe far from her family, according to her Twitter account.
On hashtag #SaveBasma, the story is getting more attention with Basma’s friends along many activists are sharing the story.
More people went to urge the human rights organizations, UN and international media to cover Basma and help her as they helped Rahaf since women in Yemen are not living in better conditions than Saudi Arabia.
The wave that is believed to be prompted by Rahaf but will continue to reach many women who are suffering from the male guardianship laws.
