Rebel: My Escape from Saudi Arabia to Freedom

By Rahaf Mohammed

‘Through her courageous resistance, she has, for a moment, drawn global attention to the ongoing struggle of Saudi women. 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.’
THE WASHINGTON POST

A gripping true story of bravery and sacrifice by a young woman whose escape from Saudi Arabia captivated the world.

In early 2019, after more than a year of careful planning, Rahaf Mohammed boarded a plane and finally escaped from Saudi Arabia. If caught, she was sure she would be killed, like other rebel women who had tried to flee her country’s oppressive regime.

But the eighteen-year-old only made it as far as Bangkok before her passport was taken away. It was a trick, and soon she found herself trapped, barricaded in a hotel room. As men pounded on her door, the teenager decided to reach out to the world on Twitter – and the world answered. Her account gained forty-five thousand followers overnight and offered her a vital lifeline. This was Rahaf’s chance at a new life, the one she had dreamed of.

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. 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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK
• Release date: Mar 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9780008412685

Rahaf Mohammed

RAHAF MOHAMMED was eighteen years old when she dramatically escaped from Saudi Arabia, capturing world-wide attention through her Twitter account. The daughter of a politician, Rahaf was raised according to an oppressive interpretation of Islam, where women and girls are given virtually no freedom. Thanks to a public plea for her life made on social media, Rahaf was eventually granted asylum in Canada, where she still lives, advocating for the freedom and empowerment of women. 

Reviews for Rebel

[thecrow2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Now I know that Gilead is real and it`s called Saudi Arabia. In her book Rahaf Mohammed gives us a shocking insight of the women`s life in the kingdom and how she managed to flee from there.