Dina Ali Lasloom

Saudi woman who attempted to seek asylum in Australia but was stopped en route in Manila and sent back to Saudi Arabia

Dina Ali Lasloom (Arabic: دينا علي السلوم; born 29 March 1993) is a Saudi Arabian teacher who was kidnapped in the Philippines.

The last known picture of Dina

On April 11, 2017, she was traveling from Kuwait to Australia to ask for political asylum. She was stopped in Manila airport. She made a video with a cellphone. In the video, she said they took her passport and papers. She said that her family would kill her.[1] She wanted to escape a forced marriage.[2] Dina borrowed a phone from a Canadian woman to make the video. In the video, Dina said she was locked up for 13 hours. Then two men came to the airport. Dina said they were her uncles.[3]

An airport security officer saw three men take Dina. They put duct tape on her hands, feet, and mouth. Then they put her in a wheelchair. They took her on a Saudia Airlines flight to Riyadh. Other passengers said they heard her scream for help in the airplane.[3]

The video went viral in Saudi Arabia. People used the hashtag #SaveDinaAli. Protesters were waiting for Dina at the Riyadh airport. One Saudi woman, Alaa Anazi, was arrested at the airport.[4] Some women’s rights advocates in Saudi Arabia say Dina was taken to a women’s shelter. Others said Ala Anazi was taken to the shelter.[5] Dina did not get off the airplane with the other passengers.[2]

References change

  1. "A Saudi woman seeking asylum in Australia has been 'kidnapped' and returned home by her family". 13 April 2017.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Fleeing Woman Returned to Saudi Arabia Against Her Will". 14 April 2017.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "A campaign has been launched to save the Saudi woman Dina Ali Lasloom". 26 April 2017.
  4. Nordland, Rod (21 April 2017). "Cellphones in Hand, Saudi Women Challenge Notions of Male Control" – via NYTimes.com.
  5. "A Saudi woman's plea for help exposes risks runaways face". Archived from the original on 2018-11-30. Retrieved 2017-04-29.