Saudi teen granted asylum in Canada eats BACON for the first time

Saudi teen granted asylum in Canada makes the most of her new life – eating BACON for breakfast and grabbing a Starbucks coffee with her legs exposed

  • Rahaf Mohammed, 18, fled her family in Saudi Arabia fearing they would kill her
  • She arrived in Canada this weekend after two weeks in limbo in Thailand
  • Teen has been posting on social media about trying bacon for the first time
  • She has also renounced traditional Saudi dresscode and wore knee-length dress 
  • She will get 24-hour security after receiving death threats and authorities wish to place her with a family so she’s never alone 

The Saudi teenager granted asylum in Canada is defiantly enjoying her newfound freedom in the West – by trying bacon for the first time and going for Starbucks coffee with bare legs.

Rahaf Mohammed, who has renounced her last name al-Qunun after her family disowned her, captured global attention last week after she barricaded herself in an airport hotel room in Bangkok.

The 18-year-old did so in a bid to avoid being sent home to her family, saying she feared for her life. Her family has denied abuse. 


A new life: Rahaf Mohammed, 18, posted a picture of her breakfast accompanied with bacon and heart-emojis and a Canadian flag, and a cup of Starbucks coffee

New life: The knee-length dress the teenager wore is far from the covering outfits women are required to wear in Saudi Arabia

Since arriving in Toronto over the weekend, Ms Mohammed has been settling into her new life – including getting winter clothes and phone service.

And she’s also been enjoying the freedoms she wasn’t able to when living in the conservative kingdom.


  • Saudi governor’s daughter granted asylum in Canada enjoys…


    Chinese dissidents in Taiwan airport limbo for over 100 days


  • ‘I was called a sl*t for taking off my hijab’: Student, 26,…

Share this article

On Tuesday, she shared a picture on Snapchat of her breakfast of Canadian-style bacon and eggs captioned ‘Omg bacon’ with heart emojis and the Canada flag.

She also shared a picture of her morning coffee from Starbucks, with her knee-length grey wool dress that show off her bare legs also visible in the snap.

The images of the teenager embracing her new life in Canada come as the refugee agency helping her settle in Toronto revealed it has hired a security guard amid threats to her safety. 

Ms Mohammed, who has renounced her last name al-Qunun, speaks at the COSTI Corvetti Education Centre in Toronto, Ontario, on Tuesday

The brave 18-year-old said she wants to help other women flee Saudi Arabia as it’s revealed she’ll have round-the-clock security

Ms Mohammed, accompanied by Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland, right, and Saba Abbas, general counsellor of COSTI refugee service agency, left, arrives in Toronto, Ontario, on Saturday

Mario Calla, the executive director of Costi Immigrant Services, which has been contracted by the Canadian government to help Ms Mohammed, said she has received multiple threats online.

Mr Calla said he has hired a security guard to ensure ‘she is never alone,’ adding that the agency is taking the threats seriously.

‘She sees these threats. She has left Islam and she basically has broken away from her family, and that scares her,’ he added.

The agency is helping her settle in temporary housing and apply for a health card.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Ms Mohammed thanked the Canadian and Thai governments as well as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

‘I am one of the lucky ones,’ she said in a statement read on her behalf by a settlement worker.

‘I know there are unlucky women who disappeared after trying to escape or who could not do anything to change their reality.’

New style: Ms Mohammed has begun adapting to life in Canada after being granted asylum, with a photo showing her all bundled up in a winter jacket and woolly hat

Before: The teenager, pictured with her 12-year-old sister, said it had upset her that her family had announced they had disowned her ‘simply because I wanted to escape their abuse’

Ms Mohammed arrived in Canada over the weekend after a week in limbo in Bangkok.

She fled her family while visiting Kuwait and flew to Bangkok, with the intention of flying on to Australia to seek asylum last week.

But after she was denied entry into Thailand, she barricaded herself in a hotel room to avoid deportation and began tweeting – quickly amassing a huge following.

Thai authorities eventually allowed her to enter the country and the UN refugee agency began to seek a home for her.

She said that when she learned she had been granted asylum in Canada, the ‘stress I felt over the last week melted away.’

Ms Mohammed also said in her press conference that she wants to work in support of freedom for women around the world.

‘Today and for years to come, I will work in support of freedom for women around the world,’ she said.

From her personal Twitter account, Ms Mohammed thanked everyone for their support, saying she had never ‘dreamed of this love’

Canada is now the new home for Saudi refugee Ms Mohammed, after the country responded to a request by the UNHCR

The 18-year-old was detained in Thailand following her arrival in the country. She is pictured having barricaded herself in an airport hotel room in a bid to avoid deportation

‘The same freedom I experienced on the first day I arrived in Canada.’

But she added that her first priority is to learn English.

She said she wants to be independent, travel and make her own decisions on education, on a career and who she will marry.

‘I had no say in any of this. Today I can proudly say that I am capable of making all those decisions,’ she said.

Her plight has drawn attention to Saudi Arabia’s strict social rules, including a requirement that women have the permission of a male ‘guardian’ to travel.

She said that women in Saudi Arabia ‘can’t be independent and they need the approval of their male guardian for everything.

‘Any woman who thinks of escaping, or escapes, will be at risk of persecution.’

Source: Read Full Article