Arab ex-Muslim atheist girl: will I be granted asylum?

[abitofall]

Jurisdiction

Alabama

I am an Arab woman in my late 20s. I was born and raised in a muslim Arab society. I still live where I was born. In my hometown women wear black and cover their faces with niqab. I left Islam about 10 years ago (I'm atheist now) but I haven't revealed my new beliefs to my family yet, so I'm still pretending to be an ordinary Muslim woman. I want to go to a developed country and claim asylum for mainly two reasons:

1. I believe that I can't spend the rest of my life in my hometown. Islam is involved in a lot of things in Muslims' lives. It feels like I'm mentally torturing myself by forcing myself to be someone else. If I reveal my true self, my family and everyone will hate me and I'm sure they will try to hurt me. I'm fairly known in my hometown and some stalkers actually know that I'm atheist. Somebody's tried to hit me at work before.

2. FGM was practised on me when I was a newborn baby. They cut off my clitoris and minor labia completely. FGM is a very important tradition to the locals in my hometown. I cant imagine myself make a family in my hometown where I am going to face a lot of pressure to do FGM & other things.

I'm worried that I many not be granted asylum because my country is at peace. It's really hard for me to live here though. I'm really scared. really.

I'm sorry I had to choose one of the states so that I could send my question.

 

[army judge]

Only www.uscis.gov can say what will happen to you in the USA.
Asylum is easier to obtain in Canada.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

I'm truly sorry to hear about your plight. You'll need to speak to an immigration attorney in order to get the best answer. If you were in fear of being persecuted as a non-practicing Muslim (persecution as a result of religion) that may qualify for consideration. An act long past is not a present threat although it may be a factor. There is also the question of how to qualify people for asylum. How many would claim they are atheists or another religion so that they could obtain citizenship in the US? From my understanding, these cases can be very case specific. I wish you the best of luck.

 

[ElleMD]

I have some experience with these kinds of cases, and the fear of persecution typically must be at the hands of the government, not a family. The general feeling being that your family being angry at you just means it may not be wise to live near them, but that does not mean you would have to leave the country. The requirement to adhere to specific standards of dress is not sufficient to claim asylum. While there have been a few cases where asylum has been granted to avoid FGM, if it was already done, asylum won't help you. Nor would wishing to avoid it for daughters you may never have.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Excellent comment @ElleMD and thank you for your insight. I recall reading a news story about an asylum case in the UK where a gay / LGBT woman was granted her request for asylum based upon her eventual revelation that she feared persecution and prosecution for being LGBT in a country which has harsh penalties. Originally she was denied asylum for reasons of facing domestic violence.While an argument might be made that the community itself presents a danger and not just the family, the chances of success are probably also commensurate with the potential harm.

 

[abitofallgirl]

Thank you for the comments, everyone.

I knew that I don't have a good chance to win asylum I'm mentally dying here because I don't know what to do. I'm too scared to confront my society and don't know if i will be welcomed outside of the country. I try to be very careful not to say anything that reveals my true beliefs.

I want to add something; what about freedom of speech? Please tell me what you think.

Actually my country would arrest any one who criticises Islam and muslims in public. So even in social media I cannot be myself. I know a writer who was sentenced to 3 years in jail just because of a few words he said in Facebook. There is a penalty for those who criticise the government (1 year in jail).

As I said before, I'm being mentally tortured by the situation I am in. To be honest when i think of how complicated my situation is, I start having suicidal thoughts sometimes. But I keep telling myself that it's better for me to go and try claiming asylum instead of killing myself. There's nothing to lose if I hold on to some hope. About a year ago I went to see a psychiatric about my suicidal thoughts. I didn't tell her everything about my situation (she is muslim and I had to be careful). I went to her just to see if she would be able to help me, but when she started preaching and giving me advice on how to worship God (suicide is a great sin in Islam), I knew that seeing a psychiatrist is not a good idea in my society. She was also kind of judging me (you are seeking attention, you are a spoiled girl, etc)

Again, thank you for the help everyone.

 

[ElleMD]

I don't doubt you would fare better living someplace else, and were I you, that is exactly what I would do. The US however, may not be your best bet. It is very difficult to get legal authorization to stay here unless you have a family member who is already a US citizen and can sponsor you, or you can find an employer willing to sponsor you.

Luckily, The US is not your only option. I would investigate the requirements to legally move elsewhere. Most countries have much more lax and flexible immigration policies.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

First of all... do not despair. The worst thing you can do is to have no hope that something may not change. It might not be immediate but hopefully you'll get there and there are options - it just may take longer. And you will get there. And perhaps applying for asylum may be a successful endeavor and maybe you'll locate an advocate online whom you can contact for assistance. I have heard that Pakistanis have applied in significant numbers for asylum based upon religious persecution.

I know it must be difficult not to be able to enjoy using social media to express yourself freely. In a way I consider that a blessing. In the US it is what gets many people into trouble. Keep it together and try to enjoy those things that you can enjoy. If you have your health and good care, food and shelter, consider that many others do not even have that stability. And you can use this to eventually navigate your way to a more enjoyable place. Please don't consider suicide. Too often I hear about those who aren't successful and later wish they hadn't tried, realizing what they had even if it was difficult to manage.

As @ElleMD says, there are other countries with much more flexible policies. Take things one step at a time. Wish we could help you more. Best of luck.