A 3D rendered middle eastern blind woman raises a cane in trans flag colors. Text "Partially Sighted Trans Woman Escapes Saudi Arabia" over an outline of KSA.

Blind Trans Woman Escapes Saudi Arabia

Today a young Saudi trans woman is safe in the asylum system of a European country.  Layla Al Darwish was born with the misfortune not only of being trans in the most repressive country on Earth, but with retinitis pigmentosa, a condition that has made her functionally blind.

After her parents discovered she’d contacted us, her father threatened to kill her. In Saudi, this is not an idle threat. The Saudi state will do nothing against a parent who harms their child. So we had to arrange her escape quickly.

This has been a very dangerous extraction, the most difficult and complex operation we’ve completed to date, spanning from June to December 2022. A half dozen very brave people helped Layla on her way. One of them nearly had loved ones killed doing so, and Layla was pursued by family members while on the road.

Her travels took her through the Republic of Georgia. We are deeply grateful for the assistance of Equality Georgia, who partnered with us in this operation.