The two Saudi sisters who made international headlines in April seeking help to leave Georgia before their family or officials forced them back to Saudi Arabia, have finally been offered asylum in an undisclosed location.
It was a story that made headlines as sisters Maha and Wafa fled their abusive family and arrived in Georgia 17 April where they started to ask for help in relocation to a third country.
“We decided to leave Saudi Arabia because life there had become unbearable from the torture. We were threatened and abused daily by our family, father and mother and brothers,” Maha had said in an interview with RFI.
In direct contact with RFI and other news outlets, the sisters explained that they had been planning to leave since 2014 after their lives had become unbearable from the constant repression at the hands of their family and the government.
Under the Saudi male guardianship system, a woman, regardless of her age, is under constant surveillance by an official male guardian.
Easy access to Georgia
Georgia is one of the few countries that Saudi citizens can travel to without a visa, making it an easier destination for the girls to get to.
But ultimately, the longer they waited there, the more precarious their situation became as twitter trolls, reportedly from their family, began harassing them and tweeting threats to the sisters.
Maha and Wafa al-Subaie: Menacing Twitter comments
Your face does not indicate torture, you are lies, you do not deserve asylum there are women who deserve it more than you
amss (@amss70535077) April 22, 2019
The UNHCR did work with the sisters in helping them find a safe place in Georgia.
Success story
In the end, a tweet and a photo telling their supporters that they had finally been accepted in a third country.
"As we settle in our new home and life we will continue to support Saudi women. Your sweet and thoughtful messages helped us through some very hard times." Beautiful message from @GeorgiaSisters2 to the thousands who signed their petition: https://t.co/fOBouZsNNG
Rima Amin. 🦋 (@rima246) May 9, 2019
For the time being as they settle into their new lives, the sisters have asked for privacy from the media.
The location of their new home is also not known, to ensure their safety.
While the sisters and other girls fleeing the Saudi Kingdom have found a happy ending, others have not been lucky as in the case of Dina Ali Lasloom.
She made it as far as the Philippines in 2017, but was then forced back to the kingdom. Her current whereabouts and condition remain unknown.
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