Saudi woman who fled home embraces Canada

In less than two weeks, Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun has gone from the cloistered life of a Saudi woman in Hail, a city in the northwestern part of the country, to the life of an independent woman on the other side of the world.

Written by: Catherine Porter

She wants to go to college to study architecture. She would like to take English classes. She is wondering about how to harness her newfound media stardom.

But mostly, celebrated Saudi-turned-Canadian-refugee Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun just wants to experience what it is like to be a teenager, free to do what she wants and dress how she wants.

“I want to do crazy things I’ve never done before,” she said in an interview Monday evening, sitting in a classroom at a refugee center in downtown Toronto.

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On just her third day in Canada, Alqunun, 18, seemed to be still a bit stunned.

In less than two weeks, she has gone from the cloistered life of a Saudi woman in Hail, a city in the northwestern part of the country, to the life of an independent woman on the other side of the world.