Escaping SAUDI ARABIA: How She Became FIRST Documented Ex-Muslim Woman to Flee Without Repercussion 

For all the folks who feel like I have spoken on behalf of their faith, religion, and experience, please watch minute 13:15 - 14:00. Wishing you all peace and joy.

Thank you for highlighting the plight of ex-Muslim women. I'm an ex-Muslimah myself and most of us never share our stories because traditional Islam wants us dead.

This is insane. When I was a kid, my dad was told he had to go to Saudi Arabia for 3 years with his family for the airforce. Thank god my mother put her foot down and said there was no way she was taking her daughters over there. It ended my father's military career yet saved his daughters from being treated like garbage for 3 years.

before i get into this video, i just want to say i am so proud this woman is freed from the extreme oppressions. My heart breaks.

When I was in my early 20’s I found my soul mate who was Saudi and French ( his mom was French) I understood that if I married him I would loose my freedom, and my children would be raised Muslim not out of their choice… I am now in my 50’s, I have never met another man whom I have had those feelings for again, but knew that I could not give up my Freedom …. And never have, I also raised two beautiful boys who became the men of their choosing , life has been hard, and getting married to him would have been easier, but I understood that my freedom has no price.

My faith is Sikhism, and it was one of the first religions founded in India that argued women are equal to men, and a woman on her period is a beautiful not shameful thing. Women in our faith are not excluded from praying or touching our holy book during their menstrual cycles. At the time when our faith was founded, many Hindu and Muslim women were often segregated and shamed in India during their menstrual cycles. This was not the case with our faith at all. I am very thankful that I grew up as a Sikh, and it breaks my heart that Jasmin and her sisters grew up in a culture that shamed them for being women and restricted how they could live.

"A cult can be just as small as your home and family." YES! I am so glad that she acknowledges this because it's so true! And another thing I want to add is that the disabled are prime targets and essentially sitting ducks, to be preyed upon by cult leaders. I know I grew up (and am still living in) a culty environment. I call it "the cult of the disabled" because I'm in a wheelchair so my mom thinks she has to control pretty much every aspect of my life. What I eat, how I dress, when I shower, when I take my meds, where I go (I absolutely am forbidden from going to parties with my friends unless a "responsible adult" is there...I'm 34 mind you) One of the only things I absolutely WILL NOT let her take control of (and she is quite pissed about it) is who my friends are and the conversations and activities I partake in online (which is nothing lewd or lascivious.) Truth be told sex scares the hell out of me because of how susceptible I am to being raped and I've already been molested twice). But yes, I absolutely believe the disabled can be prime targets for getting into culty situations. "Never stand in the way of a woman who has her own identity and self figured out. Ever ever ever! I FREAKIN' LOVE THIS SO MUCH! THIS GIRL IS DA BOMB DIGGITY!

I was born into a patriarchal religion. I was raised to be a wife, mother and homemaker. My 1st marriage gave me my 2 wonderful children. My second marriage was to a man who was bipolar. After my life was threatened, I left the marriage. He took his own life after the divorce. I'm still picking up the pieces and trying to make the best of my new normal. Thank you for telling your story, for in it I heard my own.

The extent to which religions go to control women never ceases to astonish me. Even worse when the religion and the state are united.

I'm not arab but iranian I've started questioning my religion since I was 14 .for me it is unacceptable that I worth less just bc of my gender .I got tired of islam being in favour of men most of the time if not always.I've been called almost every terrible thing one can say to a woman for defending my gender . I'm really proud of iranian women and every brave woman who fights for her rights and stops supporting oppressing women.

Wow I came here early. Glad to see many ex muslims speak up. Now, where can I see ex-buddhists? It was a very romanticized religion in the western world but my experience is completely different as I grew up in China.

I went through Jordan while changing planes, travelling and was wearing a head scarf. I was told off in Arabic by a Muslim guard because my neck was showing. A female staff member came and asked me if I was Muslim and I said no so he dropped it.

Break the silence. Break the cycle.

This reminded me of a book called "Not without my daughter" a true story. Also a TV movie was made based on the book. Such a great eye opening interview with Jasmin. She is a very well spoken speaker, easy to listen to.

I just want to say to say how much I love this channel/podcast 🙃Thankyou for giving so many survivors such a wonderful platform to be seen and heard 🥰

even though i‘m not strong enough to watch this video for the many triggers in there i want to say thank you for everything that you do with shedding light on these things!

So Wonderful You had the Bravery, Courage and Determination to escape that Horrible, Disgusting, Inhumane environment. Welcome to the U.S. Hope You're Very Happy here.

I have watched many of your podcasts in the last 2 years, but this is the most interesting and intelligent guest you've ever interviewed. So happy for her, that she's been able to achieve the kind of life she wants. May she live a long and happy life!

"Cult to Consciousness" I'm also an ex-muslim. Born into a conservative Pakistani Muslim family and never even allowed to ask any question about the doctrine or Mohammad's character till I come to USA. And my journey from "Cult to Consciousness" was (and still is) eye opener. I'm supper happy for Jasmin and admire her courage. Blessings.

I’ve heard audio of a Saudi woman, who I think was from the royal family there, and who was trying to escape the country, and who was literally dragged out of line, at the airport, within sight of her plane, by several of her uncles. It seems like such an archetypal, primal battle-of-good-versus-evil primal terror, I can only imagine. I used to have hyper vivid reoccurring nightmares every night as a kid, (my way of processing living in an Unpredictable, chaotic home) and a lot of them featured similar-seeming predator-prey deadly pursuit sort of storylines. A lot of my nightmares felt like things other people actually had experienced, like people trying to escape from concentration camps, without being seen and shot, or being at an outdoor shopping market, and a man with a gun suddenly trying to shoot and kill everyone there. When I heard that audio in that documentary, it felt horrifyingly familiar, in that archetypal way I had already explored against my will every night, as soon as I fell asleep. I am so so glad you got out. There are plenty of awful ways we oppress women right here in the US, but again, there’s just something so archetypal about restricting someone’s physical movements/travel, that I am so so glad you’re no longer beholden to that level of restriction. I am also obsessed w/ cults - I first got into it, bc one of my daughter’s uncles on her dad’s side was involved w/ a cult for years, in the past, and I felt like, much like my obsession w/ true crime content, I wanted to learn everything I could, to be able to protect, or to immunize my child against those dangers. Very quickly however, I started noticing huge parallels I could identify w/, even as a person raised as a not-strict Jew (and have always been a witchy healer at heart, since 4YO me would be out in the yard w/ my sand bucket, mashing red berries into a “potion”). For me, it was going through school undiagnosed w/ ADD and autism, at a time when they still thought those differences only affected boys. So I was labeled all kinds of unhelpful unkind things, and I had years of formative experiences, seeing myself failing, and seeing people around me, coming to expect poor results from me. And because my home life was chaotic/unpredictable, I got very adept at noticing even minute changes in peoples’ voices and/or faces, to help me understand the mood “weather” of the adults around me, who had influence over my day to day. I have had to work harder than most people can really understand, as an adult, once I actually started learning how my brain works, going back to school, little by little, paaaaiiiiinstakingly slowly, and I’m still in the thick of it. I work 6 days a week at a job I am wildly passionate about, where I get to further study cannabinoid science, while helping people to reduce their suffering, through health education and real-life, best-practices-based lab-tested potions! I’m doing school online, a little bit at a time, bc I’m also a single mom (who doesn’t receive child support, but who is extremely fortunate to have some support from my parents) I’ve commented lots of times before on C2C, but usually I talk about the guest, and this time, it felt more relevant to share this instead. I don’t know why, either, but here we are. Thank you for sharing your story and perspective, and thank you always to Shelise, Jonathan and any invisible team members, if applicable. You are loved and appreciated, and you’re doing really really important work. Blessed be, Dear Ones 💜⚡️

Sending love from a fellow Italian-Arab (American)

Shelise, I think one of your gifts is really seeing people and in turn making them feel seen. Thank you for your work and sharing your gift. Jonathan thanks for your work and supporting our gal you know we appreciate you too 💜

Yay!! I get So Happy when there are family members who really try to help Survivors finally Escape... The second she said, "My mom knew a little bit more to the story..." I was instantly like, *GO! MOM!*. 🙌 And then, the cousins perfect safety net/ "vacation" Escape Plan. ✨🎉

I also just met a couple. The man was Black Arab and she was just Arab. They told her he was dirty and beneath her. They tried to stop the wedding. And she was shunned by a lot of her family. Hasn't stopped to since before the wedding.

People are so uneducated about the difference between nationality, race and ethnicity. I'm from Texas and when I refer to someone as being a Mexican everyone gets bent out of shape and accuses me of being racist. I get tired of explaining to people that calling someone who was born in Mexico a Mexican is not racist. It's their nationality and has nothing to do with their race. It's exhausting trying to explain something so simple.

This is so healing to watch! I’m only 14 so I still have years until I can fully escape this religion but I’m glad I got to break free off the indoctrination that everyone around me was so dead set putting me in early T-T I just gotta find a way to cope w me living in this arab country until then As someone with ADHD, I’ve always found it extra tiring and exhausting to do all these excessive rituals that Islam puts through. I hated myself so much for always feeling this way and thought that I was being a horrible person for not wanting to do these practices. My ADHD is ruining my life but at the same time it saved me and helped me make the first step in realizing how frustrating this religion is lol I hate the idea of hijab so much!! It doesn’t veil men from anything and they will still hurt women (maybe even more because they’re given a mindset that seggualize women and young girls even more by making things innocent such as HAIR “temptations” Plus even if they were tempations why is it our fault ;-; this is victim blaming to the max.. it’s not my fault I don’t want to be covered head to toe in 45 degree weather when I’m already sweating like a waterfall in short sleeved clothes and shorts. why didn’t the aLl mIGHTy AlLaH think that covering women so much in the hot weather?!? i don’t want vitamin d deficiency (which is actually more common in women and girls who covered up) I hate when they say hijab is a choice too because it NEVER IS!! they’re just saying that to cope w the situation they’re in. my mom literally threatens me saying stuff like “I’m a horrible Muslim” for not wanting to wear hijab Can’t wait to escape from this religion and country 😭😭 i cant do anything cuz im a minor so gotta keep pretending so I don’t get killed or disowned loll

And just fancy.Without us woman there would be no dictatorial men.They need to move with the times.

Another wonderful interview! Jasmin is articulate, sensitive, courageous and has so much integrity! Shelise, a wonderful interview as always. I think you navigate the delicate tightrope of exposing some of the oppression of fundamentalist Muslim societies without being Islamophbic. Your respect for people's choices really shines through all your interviews. By the way, I want to mention another woman who went through a harrowing process of escaping Saudi Arabia from a violent family and a terrifyingly oppressive childhood in around 2018 or 2019 or so. The author now has asylum in Canada. The book is called REBEL, by Rahaf Mohammed and was published in 2022.

I get so emotional when I hear/watch the stories of women and their journeys of knowing themselves. This woman is a force!

So relate..I began conversion to Islam as a young woman when I married someone from a middle eastern country, in 1979 and spent extensive time there which cured me of wanting to convert. How I saw the religion practiced IRL was a big turnoff..but there are many positives to traditional cultures also.

Jasmin's airport story reminded me so much of Claire Headley's story in the train station (bus station? airport?) leaving the Sea Org.

Thank you for coming on and speaking your truth! The more light we shine the sooner the planet will no longer be in darkness.

My heart breaks for every woman trapped in this religion. The worst thing is that it is almost impossible to escape because they do not have their documents and can be locked in their homes for life. And then those long, black clothes they have to wear in such heat, while the men don't have to. It is a great injustice and shame in the history of humanity. To say that women are worth half of a man. Women who are creative, who have a thousand talents, intelligence, and can give birth to new life. I feel sick. I don't know how this young woman had such clarity of thought. She is such a brave heart!❤

I am so Thankful for her mother who held her together while in that airport to help her get out of the country!!!!! 1:09 My goodness! I had an Arab family in my neighborhood, who came from Egypt, through Italy. They lived 3 blocks from me and had been there for Decades! Like I went to school with their children! When 911 happened, we (neighborhood folks) had to stand guard outside their house!

Have you ever read "Not Without My Daughter" by Betty Mahmoody? Its amazing! I read it in the 90's and I think it would be incredible to hear an interview with her

I loved this guest (also have a bit of a crush now lol). It’s so important to discuss the nuance of how to address misogyny in Islam while simultaneously acknowledging how damaging Islamophobia is.

I am Ex-Muslim, from Pakistan 🇵🇰. Lot of love and respect 🌺🌹

Oh well. I've thought I know a lot about what life in islamic countries is like. Turns out I knew almost nothing. Thank you Shelise and Jasmin for showing that to me.

I'd like to have a discussion about the women who basically work for the Patriarchy. How the women themselves become the enforcers. How and why.

This was such an interesting listen! Thank you so much Shalise for offering this opportunity.

My best friend travelled to The Maldives a few years back and fell asleep on the plane and woke up with a man with his hand up her shirt and going down her pants. She immediately got up and told the flight staff. They informed the authorities country she had her layiver in what had happened as well so they could be aware. She had a full flight and her family member agreed to switch seats so she didn’t have to sit next to this man. When the arrived at the United Arab Emirates airport she was immediately approached by armed men. Her family was so taken aback they started recording it. These men then threatened her family and forced them to erase the video. They told her that if she wanted to press charges that she would be made to stay in the country and remain there until whatever legal action she was attempting to take on the man transpired. She was told she would not be allowed to go to The Maldives and then come back to give any further statements. She had very little time to make the decision because she only had a few hours of a layover and needed to catch another flight. And they were not only armed but also treating her as if she was the perpetrator. They even said the man admitted what he did to them and if she would just take his apology and leave their country. She was frightened and decided to just get on her next flight. This is how they treated a woman not from their country who is not expected to exist within their rules I can only imagine how terrible those who are may be treated. And not demonizing a whole group of people. Using they referring to those people who don’t actually value a woman’s life.

Jasmine is so strong thank you so much for sharing your story and thank you shelise and Jonathan for always bringing light to darkness

Wow! What a great interview! Thanks for this. I’ve lived in SAUDI for 4 years as an expat due to work. Once I met two women and they were Saudi, they were artists, painters, they showed me their art. And I wanted to take a picture of them holding up their art 🖼️, but they had to veil themselves for the picture. And I still have that photo, two invisible women without a face holding up their beautiful art! This was heartbreaking to see, because it was literally that these women were just invisible, as if they weren’t there, much like ghosts. Although their art was representing them and yet nobody could see. This was truly sad to me. I also had to wear a hijab in some areas which felt hot in that weather and suffocating. I just hated it. But while you’re there you just have to respect the culture. These days Saudi is getting more and more liberal, young people have a bit more freedom, some women aren’t wearing hijab at all which was unheard of some 7-10 years ago.

My grandmother needed a male sponsor to apply to law school in Boston, Massachusetts back in the 1930’s. She graduated!

Also I love her pace… she speaks perfectly for my short attention span haha

Love your show. It's awesome that you did another video with an Ex-Muslim woman. There are not so many out there. So glad about it. Maybe you can do an interview with Rana Ahmad as well? She is a woman who also fled Saudi-Arabia but ended up in Germany (I think). She wrote a book about her ordeal.

What an excellent interview. After reading the Princess Sultana books, I became enthralled with the Middle East. I will definitely be reading Jasmin’s book next. 😊

Yours is one of the best channels on RU-vid…always informative

1:19:11 my ex was not Muslim, but he had a very twisted version of Christianity. He was definitely in the camp of if he died, our oldest son would be in charge of the family. He viewed himself in that same role with his mother, that it was her duty to listen to him because he was her head. She was having none of that, but he tried... he just kept getting worse over the years until I finally escaped last year.

Im so happy you were able to find the Freedom for yourself and and your children. A true vision of Grace and Beauty.

This woman has a great deal of inner strength to able to live and thrive in a secular world.

Such an articulate lady. Cannot begin to imagine the nightmare of living in these backward cultures as a female.

Leaving a comment for the algorithm. I'm not able to watch, but please know how much your work is appreciated ❤❤ You are doing God's work by giving survivors a platform for their voices and stories.

Thankyou for sharing your story. I also lost my children's father to suicide after we had separated due to his mental health problems, it a unique kind of loss as even though you are no longer together, you lose them to the illness long before you seperate, and helping children through the loss of their father when you also have very complex feelings as to navigate is so so difficult. I have sought out stories of folks who have escaped oppressive environments (either religious or cultural or just within a family) for years, as it helps me understand my own life story, and I am always very appreciative to hear another person's story for new perspectives. It's amazing that you have survived so many challenges and are thriving now doing this amazing work. Much love to you. :)

I was explaining this Islamic attitude to women to a younger female here in uk. So many don’t know the truth of how women are half of a man’s worth in this culture.. bravo for getting free and speaking out! ❤👏🏼👏🏼

I love that more women are feeling brave enough to speak out about this. No group should ever be above criticism if it's valid. Islam harms a lot of groups. I think there's a difference between adults who walk in eyes open and choose it and raising children in it

Wonderful interview. Very much enjoyed. Thanks for sharing ❤

What a brave woman, I hope every girl, woman growing up in that kind of environment finally find their voices and the right their lives

I really like that she said cults don't have to be a big group, they can be just a family.

Thank you so much for sharing your story! I love learning about different religions. I'm realizing that through all of the differences, they have a lot of the same problems/ issues.

What an excellent conversation today. Thank you Shelise & Jasmine. It’s wonderful to know that you are thriving and happy. I hope this is just the first episode between you two. All the best to you and your loved ones ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤☮️

Wow, this was so interesting. I watched the video from beggining to end. It's great to hear a lived experience of someone who is of mixed ethnicity and had the insight thoughout their life of both worlds. Being able to compare and understand both and eventually choose her life as she wantede it to be.

What an enlightened and fascinating conversation! I even took notes! Thank you, Ladies, you have offered me so much to think about. Bravo!

I've taught children from all over the world and have multicultural friends, because I taught English as an additional language I went to a lot of the cultural events & get togethers. I often said you shouldn't be covering girls to protect them, you need to look at the men around you and if a child needs protection from him he is the problem not the child.

Thanks for sharing and kudos for having the courage to follow your path ❤️

Love this channel🙏💕 Thanks for giving women courage and hope✨️💞

I’m sorry but all these laws or rules for women sound like they were made by an extremely controlling & paranoid little man. Thank you so much for sharing your story. I found it, although quite sad for obvious reasons, very interesting & I’m so happy you found your way to freedom.

There are many types of physical activity, including swimming, running, and walking, to name a few. Being active has been shown to have many health benefits, both physically and mentally.😅😅

What a wonderful interview. I loved this one.

Wow, this was an amazing episode. I like the way she’s now using her life experience in her career now.

Inspirational! So glad I found this presentation ❤

I'm so glad she got her forest! What a remarkable woman. Thanks again for another wonderful video ❤

What a great episode! What a wonderful lady! It brought back so many memories from when I was a fundamentalist muslim. It was another life. Thank you, Shelise. Thank you, Jasmin.

Wonderful interview! Thank you for sharing your story. I love the way you show understanding and grace to people. It is dangerous to generalize a group of people or region of the world. By sharing your story, you teach everyone to see the same humanity we all share.

Thank you! I was a "prisoner" in the UAE for years! I have been thinking of writing a book as well. I have an inspirational person now.

Jasmine's Linda listen comments were brilliant! So glad she invited herself on your show! 😉😊

Thank you, Jasmin, for sharing your story. Inspiring.

so strong and beautiful! many blessings to jasmin and her sons!🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

💔 I have so many parallels with your story. You have courage that I lack. Thank you for sharing your story 🙏💛

Fabulous Episode ! Thank You ✨🙏✨😊

Wow this was a great video, so much to learn!! I’m watching from Sweden 🇸🇪

Thanks for sharing your story ❤

Wow, amazing story. Thank you Jasmine for sharing your story Very powerful ❤

Thank you so much for this channel, and for giving platform for the oppressed. Those who share give hope and validation to those in bondage of all sorts.

Thank you for the thoughtful and inspiring podcast. I love to meet people from anywhere and everywhere. I lived in Asia for 12 years and had a wonderful experience interacting with women there.

So grateful for this amazing interview ❤

Thank you! Would like to hear more from Jasmin about deconstructing her religion.

Thank you for sharing your story and all the best to you and your family.

Excellent interview.

That was absolutely fascinating. You are an amazing person

Thank you for sharing your story.

What an eventful life! Thank you for sharing your experiences. You've really seen some highs and lows!

Excellent interview! Love that.

She is a very good storyteller.

Loved this interview. All the best to you, Jasmin.

Thank you for sharing your story

Great interview

You've both stated several times in different ways, that you only speak for your unique experience. Well done.

What a great episode! I loved hearing Jasmin's story ❤

Always such thought provoking guests. Thank you.