Saudi asylum-seeker teen in Canada tells of her ordeal

By Vakkas Dogantekin

ANKARA (AA) - Saudi teenager Rahaf al-Qunun safely landed in Toronto on Sunday only to learn that she was disowned by her family.

Upon learning the news, 18-year-old al-Qunun dropped her last name and repeated her earlier remarks that she was physically and mentally abused since the age of 16.

In her first talk to the media after her arrival in Canada, al-Qunun spoke about her family's alleged mistreatment in detail and urged other Saudi women to be "brave and free".

"My life was in danger and I felt I had nothing to lose. I wanted to tell people my story and about what happens to Saudi women," Canada's CBS news and Toronto Star on Monday.

Al-Qunun added she was beaten for months for cutting her hair short and not praying.

"I was exposed to physical violence, persecution, oppression, threats to be killed.

"I felt that I could not achieve my dreams that I wanted as long as I was still living in Saudi Arabia," she said.

Calling the life in Saudi Arabia daily oppression, al-Qunun continued blasting her home country: "We are treated as an object, like a slave. We could not make decisions about what we want."

Relations between Canada and Saudi Arabia are already toxic.

In August 2018, Saudi Arabia expelled Canada's ambassador and withdrew its own ambassador when Canada's Foreign Ministry denounced the jailing of activists in Saudi Arabia.

The Saudis sold their investments in Canada, suspended trade deals and ordered their citizens studying in Canada to leave.