The silent chains of Saudi Arabia: my fight for my daughter and our freedom
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By Bethany Alhaidari, Human Rights Foundation (HRF) Senior Fellow on Human Trafficking
In 2011, while working in Tunisia, my life completely changed. I witnessed the start of the Arab Spring and fall of Tunisia’s dictator, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, due to a popular uprising against injustice. As an American citizen, it was the first time I truly understood how vital freedom, human rights, dignity, and democratic principles were.
I switched my life path and entered academia, conducting graduate human rights and socio-legal research on one of the world’s most notorious human rights violators and dictatorships: Saudi Arabia. I embarked on a journey to research, write, learn, and experience. Along the way, I met some of the most inspiring Saudi human rights defenders, several of whom ended up in jail. I married a Saudi activist who was supportive of my work at the time, gave birth to my beautiful daughter Zaina, and started a business.
While my journey started with the pursuit of knowl...
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