DREAM RETURN TO MIDDLE EAST BECAME A NIGHTMARE
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She hoped her film would shed light on the social reforms being introduced by the new crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.
But days before she left, news broke of the murder of government critic Jamal Khashoggi , who va n i shed in Istanbul while visiting the Saudi consulate.
Turkey claims to have
Basma said: “It was really hard to gauge what effect Khashoggi’s death may have had on my trip.
“I felt like everyone was a little bit more on edge – but it was hard to know what was normal.”
On arriving in Saudi, Basma is f ilmed attempting to immerse herself in Saudi life.
But she struggles to come to terms with the strict laws and social codes and runs into trouble over issues
Filming in Saudi months after er women had been given the right ht to drive, Basma hires a car and nd is delighted by the response the sight of her driving received from other women. But her trip comes to an abrupt end when government minders who have been assigned to accompany her overhear her di scus s ing Louja in al-Hathloul, a right-todrive campaigner who was arrested weeks before the ban on women was lifted last year and who remains in prison. B a sma said: “While in the car, I looked up some informat ion on Loujain on the internet and was
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“It’sIt a social rule out there not to didiscuss anyone who is in trouble,ble, or in jail, and not something I knewkn about.”
TheTh film shows Basma being told to returnr to her aunt’s apartment and stay inside while a government officialoffi reviews the footage. On seeing she had discussed sensitivesens issues including women’s rights and Khashoggi’s death, her filming visa is withdrawn and she has no option but to return on the first flight to London hours later.
Basma, whose film Inside the Real Saudi Arabia: Why I Had to Leave is available on BBC iPlayer, is still upset by the way her visit to Saudi ended.
She s a i d : “Wha t happened makes a more dramatic story but I didn’t want to leave when I did and in the way I did.
“I went out there with positive intentions to show Saudi in a good light but a lot would need to changee before I would ever thinkk about moving my life there.””