Topless Sydney protests call on Australia to take in Saudi teen Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun

A group of half-naked women protested with signs in Sydney’s CBD this morning, with an urgent message for the Australian government.

A group of topless women held a protest in Sydney’s CBD this morning, in solidarity with a Saudi teenager who fled her family and sought asylum in Australia.

Four young women stood outside the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Martin Place this morning, wearing nothing but jeans, holding signs above their heads that read ‘ALL WOMEN FREE + SAFE’, ‘RAHAF SISTERHOOD HERO’ and ‘LET HER IN’.

Four women held a protest in Martin Place calling for a Saudi teen’s freedom.

The women held signs for 45 minutes, wearing nothing but jeans, during the morning rush.

The 45-minute stunt came after 18-year-old Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun fled the Middle Eastern kingdom, claiming her family would kill her because she has renounced Islam.

Jacqui Love, founder of the women’s group Secret Sisterhood, said the protest was held “to support Rahaf’s bravery and to show that all women should have the right to express themselves freely and safely”.

“Rahaf has become a worldwide symbol of women trying to escape oppression,” said Love. “She truly is a symbol for women around the world who are trying to escape oppression. No one should live in fear for their safety simply because they are a woman.”

Ms Love has also set up a GoFundMe page to help the Saudi teen.

She said she hoped the protest would help inspire the federal government to grant her and women in similar situations freedom from persecution. “We hope that she will be granted an Australian Visa and are asking the government to do so.”

The group has also set up a GoFundMe page for the girl, where they wrote: “Because her story has gained worldwide attention these funds are needed for her to set up safely in a new country.”

Qunun arrived in Bangkok on a flight from Kuwait on Saturday, and intended to seek asylum in Australia.

After being detained by Thai authorities, she refused to board a flight back to Kuwait, in a case that captured worldwide attention.

The girl barricaded herself in a hotel room at Suvarnabhumi airport for two days, while sending out desperate pleas for help over social media. “I’m rahaf mohmed, formally seeking a refugee status to any country that would protect me from getting harmed or killed due to leaving my religion and torture from my family,” she tweeted on Monday.

Rahaf’s case captured global attention.

She appealed to Australia, Canada, the United States, Britain and other European nations, calling on Donald Trump, UK Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt and prominent human rights lawyers to intervene.

“Please I need u all. I’m shouting out for help of humanity.”

Last night, the United Nations granted Qunun her refugee status, prompting calls for the teenager to immediately be resettled in Australia.

Following the news, the young woman tweeted a selfie captioned “Hey.. I’m happy.”

Hey.. I’m happy ❤️🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/FJJvz8Kzu0

— Rahaf Mohammed رهف محمد (@rahaf84427714) January 9, 2019

Opposition foreign spokeswoman Penny Wong said Labor leader Bill Shorten has written to Prime Minister Scott Morrison urging him to accept Qunun.

“Labor has been supportive of the government’s moves to consider humanitarian settlement in Australia given she has been found to be owed protection,” Ms Wong told ABC radio this morning.

“Shorten did write to the prime minister on Tuesday indicating that if she had a valid claim we support their efforts to offer her settlement in Australia.”

When asked whether the Saudi teenager’s case might spark copycats, Ms Wong said every case had to be considered individually.

“Obviously the fact that it became high profile may have heightened any risk to her should she return, that’s certainly one argument I’ve seen put,” she said.

Immigration Minister David Coleman said he is “very likely” to grant asylum to the Saudi teenager, subject to normal security vetting pro­cesses, according to The Australian.

“The claims made by Ms Alqunun that she may be harmed if returned to Saudi Arabia are deeply concerning,” a Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman said.

This photo of Rahaf, sitting barricaded in a hotel room at an international airport in Bangkok, went viral.

Ms Alqunun’s Twitter account has attracted tens of thousands of followers this week and her story grabbed the attention of governments, activists and well-known figures all over the world.

Saudi Arabia enforces male guardianship laws, which require that women, regardless of age, have the consent of a male relative — usually a father or husband — to travel, obtain a passport or marry.

Ms Alqunun said her male guardian had reported her for travelling “without his permission”.

She made her escape during a family trip to Kuwait, where she purchased flights to Thailand and Australia.

The teen wrote of being in “real danger” if she is forced to return to her family, posting a copy of her passport to prove her identity.

She said she would be imprisoned or worse if she was sent back to Saudi Arabia, telling Human Rights Watch she was fleeing abuse from her family, including beatings and death threats from male relatives, who forced her to remain in her room for six months for cutting her hair.

“I’m sure 100 per cent they will kill me as soon as I get out of the Saudi jail,” she told AFP, adding that she was “scared” and “losing hope”.

She said she had asserted her independence, but had been forced to pray and wear a hijab and alleged she had been beaten by her brother.

“I am giving my family 48 hours (to) either stop or I will publish everything that will incriminate them,” she threatened on Twitter earlier.

The Australian government is now considering the girl’s case.

A Saudi activist familiar with other cases of women who have run away said they were often young and unprepared for the risks involved in seeking asylum.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the activist said there had been instances where Saudi women runaways were stopped by authorities in Hong Kong or the Philippines en route to Australia or New Zealand.

In some cases, Saudi authorities were involved in forcing women to return to their families and in other cases, local authorities suspected the women of seeking asylum and deported them, the activist said.

Saudi women runaways have increasingly turned to social media to amplify their calls for help.

In 2017, Dina Lasloom triggered an online firestorm when she was stopped en route to Australia where she planned to seek asylum. She was forced to return to Saudi Arabia and was not publicly heard from again, according to activists tracking her whereabouts.

The latest incident comes against the backdrop of intense scrutiny on Saudi Arabia over the shocking murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year, which has renewed criticism of the kingdom’s rights record.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had styled himself as a reformer, with women recently granted the right to drive, but these cases raise questions over how the regime exercises control.

Originally published as Topless Sydney protests call on Australia to take in Saudi teen Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun