Runaway Saudi teenager Rahaf al-Qunun, who was granted asylum by Canada after fleeing from her allegedly abusive family, has said she hopes her freedom inspires women.
The 18-year-old made the comments Monday in an interview with Australia's national broadcaster ABC journalist Sophie McNeill, whom she met while stuck in Bangkok last week.
"I hope my story encourages other women to be brave and free," al-Qunun said in Arabic.
"I hope my story prompts a change to the law, especially as it has been exposed to the world," she added, referring to Saudi Arabia's unofficial guardianship laws which she alleges led to her abuse.
"This might be the agent for change."
Al-Qunun arrived Sunday at Toronto's Pearson International Airport wearing a grey hooded jumper emblazoned with the word Canada, but did not speak with the media waiting for her arrival.
Al-Qunun fled her family while visiting Kuwait and flew to Thailand. She had planned to enter Australia on a tourist visa and seek asylum.
But she was stopped by Thai immigration authorities after landing at a Bangkok airport last week.
Al-Qunun's case captivated the world after she took to social media asking for help as she barricaded herself in an airport hotel room.
Australia had also considered granting al-Qunun asylum.
"COMING TO CANADA WORTH THE RİSK"
Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun plans to pursue an education, get a job and "live a normal life" in Canada - things she said she could not do in her home of Saudi Arabia, which she fled fearing for her life, she told Canadian media on Monday.
Being in Canada is "a very good feeling," she told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation two days after arriving in Toronto from Bangkok.
"It's something that is worth the risk I took."
Qunun grabbed international attention last week after she barricaded herself in a Bangkok airport hotel room to resist being sent home to her family, which denies abusing her. Qunun refused to meet her father and brother, who arrived in Bangkok to try to take her back to Saudi Arabia.
The United Nations High Commission on Refugees granted her refugee status, and Canada agreed to take her in.
Canada's decision to grant Qunun asylum comes at a delicate time. Relations between Ottawa and Riyadh have been tense after Canada demanded the immediate release of jailed rights activists last year. Saudi Arabia retaliated by freezing new trade with Ottawa and forcing many of its students to return to the kingdom.
Qunun's case has drawn global attention to Saudi Arabia's strict social rules, including a requirement that women have the permission of a male "guardian" in order to travel, something rights groups say can trap women and girls as prisoners of abusive families.
In her CBC interview, Qunun said: "I felt that I could not achieve my dreams that I wanted as long as I was still living in Saudi Arabia."
Having come to Canada, "I felt that I was reborn, especially when I felt the love and the welcome," she said.
In her new home, "I will try things I haven't tried. I will learn things I didn't learn. I will explore life. ... I will have a job and live a normal life."
