A decade ago, Serah Gazali escaped Saudi Arabia, leaving behind a life where her every move was monitored and controlled. She acquired refugee status while in Mexico, based on her sex, and her application set a precedent in Latin American UNHCR case law. She is now living in Vancouver, and has not had contact with any of her family members since she left. Serah is an MA graduate student in the Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice Institute at the University of British Columbia, worked at the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Mexico, as well as with the Women’s Economic Council, and was a senior counselor for the Syrian refugee project in Canada.
In this episode I speak with her about women’s oppression in Saudi Arabian, the guardianship system, how she escaped, and how Western feminists can support the women’s movement in Saudi.
