The sisters fled from their family last September while on holiday in Sri Lanka and have been stranded in Hong Kong since an aborted attempt to get to Australia
For reasons of safety, the sisters, aged 18 and 20, who say they were beaten by their father and brothers, asked that their names and faces not be revealed, nor the country to which they have now gone.“Oh my God, I was so happy,” the curly haired younger sister told Reuters recently, describing how she felt when told asylum had been secured.The sisters spoke to Reuters in a room on the 22nd floor of a Hong Kong hotel shortly before they left the city.
They feared being intercepted by Saudi officials or relatives and forced to return home, where they believe they could be punished for renouncing Islam, which is punishable by death under the Saudi system of Islamic law..In a statement late on Monday, Vidler confirmed the sisters had successfully travelled to a third country on “humanitarian visas”.
“I want to settle down and to feel safe, and that I have rights and I matter in that country. Just to live normal, and discover myself … because now I own my life.”This is not the first case in Asia this year of young Saudi women fleeing what they said was repression. Her case drew global attention to Saudi Arabia’s strict social rules, which rights groups say can trap women and girls as prisoners of abusive families.The kingdom has given women more rights in recent years. Women have been allowed to enter sports stadiums, vote in local elections, and take a greater role in the work force as Saudi Arabia tries to diversify its oil-dependent economy.
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