Rahaf al-Qunun—or, as she prefers to be called now, Rahaf Mohammed, having eschewed the name of her family—is a Saudi Arabian apostate from Islam who at the age of 18 managed to escape to asylum in Canada. She claims that her family subjected her to physical and emotional abuse, including death threats, for failing to adhere to the norms expected of a good Muslim woman.

Rahaf, hoping to live an autonomous life free from constraints placed upon her by male guardians, had no interest in staying in Saudi Arabia. Thus, when her family took a trip to Kuwait, she took advantage, knowing her punishment for attempting to escape could be death, should she fail. In possession of a tourist visa to Australia where she intended to seek asylum, she flew to Bangkok, from where she would then fly to Australia.

However, she was never able to board the flight to Australia. A Saudi embassy official took her passport. In danger of deportation and a subsequent death sentence for apostasy, she shut herself inside a hotel room and took to Twitter to ask for help. Here, the case began to draw international attention; the hashtag #SaveRahaf trended. The Thai government eventually let her stay long enough for Canada to accept her as a refugee.

"I want to be independent, travel, make my own decisions on education, a career, or who and when I should marry. I had no say in any of this. Today, I can proudly say that I am capable of making all of those decisions." - Rahaf Mohammed

Rahaf thus reached asylum safely in 2019, abandoning her former surname. She says that she feels safe and lucky to have arrived rather than face cruel retribution like so many others. In Canada, she now lives her life as an autonomous and independent woman, as was always her wish.

In response to the case, the head of Saudi Arabia’s National Society for Human Rights expressed his “surprise” at “some countries' incitement of some Saudi female delinquents to rebel against the values of their families.”