Samah Damanhoori- Talks Her Animated Short Film, Madina Paper (Paper City) & Being A Saudi Women's Rights Activist Fighting Against Her Country's Male Guardianship Rules

Hi, my name is Samah Damanhoori. I came to the U.S in 2014 from Saudi Arabia on a Saudi scholarship to study at Notre Dame de Namur, Belmont, CA. I was doing great at school when, in 2016, without warning Mahram (male-guardian) decided to cancel my scholarship and ordered me under threats of violence, to return home.  My new friends, the Bay Area provided me with housing, food, a car, boxing classes, and paid off my university tuition. They also hired a lawyer, and I was granted asylum in 2018. With much gratitude, I was able to complete my Master's in creative writing in 2017. Now, I am working on this beautiful animated short film, as well as a VR project "Souvenir," about my experience. These days I also work as a producer at Apple. I produced an HBO documentary highlighting two Saudi women escaping from Turkey in 2019. I was part of the Freedom Drive campaign that won the right to travel for Saudi women. I am actively speaking at public events, educating young students about women’s lives in the Middle East, where male guardians make life decisions over women.