Saudi Woman Flying to Asylum in Canada

 

The Saudi woman who fled to Thailand has been permitted asylum¹ in Canada.

Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun is flying to Toronto through Seoul, South Korea, said Thai immigration official Surachate Hakparn. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed that his country had granted her asylum.

“That is something that we are pleased to do because Canada is a country that understands how important it is to stand up for human rights and to stand up for woman’s rights around the world and I can confirm that we have accepted the U.N.’s request,” Trudeau said.

Qunun arrived at Bangkok’s airport last Saturday. She accused her family of abuse and refused to meet her father and brother who sought to take her back to Saudi Arabia.

After a 48-hour wait, she was permitted to enter Thailand and has been processed as a refugee by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

Her case has drawn² attention to Saudi Arabia’s restrictive social rules. One requires that women get permission from a male “guardian” to travel. Rights groups say the rule treats women and girls as prisoners of abusive families.

Qunun’s situation comes as Saudi Arabia is facing international pressures over the killing³ of reporter Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey and Saudi involvement in the conflict in Yemen.

Australia had said on Wednesday that it was considering taking in Qunun.

I’m Caty Weaver⁴.

Words in This Story

grant - v. to do, give, or allow (something asked for or hoped for)

1 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

2 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。