She speaks for them in a dignified, raw manner.’ Observer, Book of the Day Her story is that of many more without a voice who cannot rise above their circumstances. ‘Mohammed brings alive her austere classrooms, the rages of her domineering brothers, the desires of girls like her and the sorrow of such oppression. ‘Rebel is an eye-opening look into a closed kingdom, and a grim reminder of a place where women’s rights are still far from recognised.’ Daily Mail From the guardianship system, which places unmarried women under the full control of their male relatives, to the secretive online underground network of Saudi runaways plotting their escape, Rebel is a gripping memoir of resistance and bravery by a woman determined to tell the truth about life in the closed kingdom. Now Rahaf tells her remarkable story for the first time and reveals the dystopian reality of what life is like for women within Saudi Arabia. This was Rahaf’s chance at a new life, the one she had dreamed of. Her account gained forty-five thousand followers overnight and offered her a vital lifeline. As men pounded on her door, the teenager decided to reach out to the world on Twitter – and the world answered.

It was a trick, and soon she found herself trapped, barricaded in a hotel room. If caught, she was sure she would be killed, like other rebel women who had tried to flee her country’s oppressive regime.īut the eighteen-year-old only made it as far as Bangkok before her passport was taken away.

In early 2019, after more than a year of careful planning, Rahaf Mohammed boarded a plane and finally escaped from Saudi Arabia. The striking image of a young woman, wielding nothing but a cellphone, facing down the force of an oppressive government is an apt metaphor for this fraught moment in Saudi Arabia’s history.’Ī gripping true story of bravery and sacrifice by a young woman whose escape from Saudi Arabia captivated the world. ‘Through her courageous resistance, she has, for a moment, drawn global attention to the ongoing struggle of Saudi women.

Rebel rahaf mohammed