Vocabulary

list	run away	misogyny
arrest	execute	behind bars
prison	free (3)	flee/fled/fled
lack	right (4)	manage (2)
slave	suck (2)	anonymous
voice	terrified	secret (2)
mask	stranger	intelligence
media	careful	watch-list
ban	give up	master (2)
care	guardian	at the mercy
basic	hashtag	permission
demon	break in	patriarchy
escape	passport	second-class citizen
lock	trauma	take a chance
apply	asylum	at the last moment
scary	land (2)	steal/stole/stolen
chance	disorder	post-traumatic stress disorder
detail	discuss	demonize
shame	target (2)	consequence
suffer	safe (2)	speak out
threat	abolish	board (3)
allow	location	corrupt (2)
vote	improve	make headlines
Earth	issue (3)	silence (2)
stalker	assault	criminalize
bar (3)	equality	get behind the wheel
fail	succeed

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Video

 

 
 
 
 

Transcript

Moudi Aljohani, Saudi Woman: “This is my last moment in the land of misogyny.

F**k you, Saudi Arabia!”

This is the moment Moudi Aljohani boarded a plane to flee her home country.

Moudi Aljohani, Saudi Woman: “I cannot return to Saudi Arabia because I’ll either be arrested and be behind bars for the rest of my life, or I’ll be executed.

When I was in Saudi, I felt like I was in prison.”

Moudi managed to free herself. She’s using the hashtags #IAmMyOwnGuardian and #StopEnslavingSaudiWomen to fight for the rights of women in Saudi Arabia.

Before she fled, she had to do that anonymously.

Moudi Aljohani, Saudi Woman: “Being a woman in Saudi Arabia is exactly like being a slave: you are completely controlled by your master.

This is Moudi when I talked to her one year ago; she was still in Saudi Arabia back then. I didn’t know her real name — and she wouldn’t show her face.

Moudi Aljohani, Saudi Woman: “I was masked and I changed my voice because I was terrified — I received a call from a stranger. He said that he works with the Secret Intelligence and he knows that I’m in contact with foreign media, so you have to be careful, or you’re going to be on the watch-list, and we might ban you from traveling and arrest you.

There are many reasons why life sucks for women in Saudi Arabia: They are at the mercy of their male guardian. They need permission to do basic things, receive health care or get married.

Lack of rights, lack from freedom, the whole patriarchy, the misogynistic society that always demonizes women and thinks of them as second-class citizens.

Moudi wanted to escape, but her father took her passport.

Moudi Aljohani, Saudi Woman: “I was locked in my house in Saudi for around eight months. It was killing me. It was the worst eight months I ever had in my life — I was dying every day.

So at the last moment, I took my chance.”

She secretly stole her passport back, flew to Bahrain, and then took a plane to New York, where she applied for asylum.

Moudi Aljohani, Saudi Woman: “It was the scariest, most terrifying moment in my life. After I landed, I had for a long time, post-traumatic disorder, that I was so scared I was just thinking, imagining that people are gonna break into my place and they’re gonna take me back.

What happened to her family in Saudi Arabia?

She doesn’t want to discuss the details.

Moudi Aljohani, Saudi Woman: “My family has been targeted, been shamed. They have suffered a lot consequences because of me speaking out.

Moudi is not safe.

Saudis in the United States.

Moudi Aljohani, Saudi Woman: “Since I’ve run away from Saudi Arabia, I’ve moved to three different states. I was receiving a lot of death threats, and I’ve had stalkers. People want me dead, people hate me talking. They think that I’m lying. I’m corrupting their women.

I try to make my location hidden, until things get better.”

The situation in Saudi Arabia seems to be finally improving a little bit: women were allowed to vote for the first time in 2015. And Saudi Arabia just made headlines when it became the last country on Earth to allow women to drive.

Moudi Aljohani, Saudi Woman: “It’s not enough. This is just to try to silence women from the main issues: We need to abolish the guardianship system. We need to not criminalize women from leaving the house or being independent. We need to not criminalize women for being a victim of sexual assault.

These things are more important than just getting behind the wheel.”

Moudi is not giving up her fight for equality in Saudi Arabia.

Moudi Aljohani, Saudi Woman: “I have to succeed so I can help other women, because if I don’t make it, if I fail, I don’t know who else can help them.”

Will Saudi women ever gain equality?

*     *     *     *     *     *     *

 

Questions

Saudi Arabia. Moudi Aljohani escaped her country by crossing the desert by car and then on foot. True or false?

Iran. Did she like living in Saudi Arabia? Did she enjoy living there?

Pakistan. Is Moudi quiet or does she highlight conditions for women in her country?

Egypt. What are some negative aspects of society she mentions?

Turkey. People have threatened her. Is this correct or incorrect? Who and why might people threaten her?

Morocco. Have there been any changes or improvements in Saudi Arabia for women? According to Moudi, is this enough or are they merely cosmetic?

Indonesia. Is the report very optimistic, optimistic, in the middle, pessimistic, very pessimistic or both optimistic and pessimistic about reforms and changes? Would changes come quickly or gradually? Is Moudi optimistic or pessimistic?

 

Christianity. Women and men in my country have equal rights. Yes or no?

Judaism. Do females face any particular problems?

Hinduism. Has the situation changed over the years?

Buddhism. Do women from different countries or ethnicities have different lives? Give examples.

Sikhism. What might happen in the future?

Atheism. What can or should people and governments do?