Eden Knight: Trans woman’s death highlights ‘terrifying’ oppression facing LGBTQ+ Saudis

by MAGGIE BASKA

Eden Knight was a young trans woman who died by suicide after returning to Saudi Arabia from the US. IMAGE/Eden Knight/Getty
Wajeeh Gay Lion says he faces “two death sentences” on his head because he ‘left Islam’ and is the “first openly gay man from Saudi Arabia”. IMAGE/Wajeeh Gay Lion

The death of Eden Knight, a young Saudi trans woman who took her life after she was allegedly coerced into detransitioning, won’t be the last, warns a queer Saudi who fled to the US.

Eden Knight was found dead on 13 March, months after she returned to Saudi Arabia from the US.

In her final message, the 23-year-old trans woman alleged her family hired American “fixers” to reestablish contact with her last summer. 

In her account, she said third-party manipulation, isolation from her affirming chosen family and her uncertain immigration status in the US ultimately forced her to detransition and leave the US for Saudi Arabia – a country known for its violent hostility towards LGBTQ+ country. 

Her friends and the broader trans community are demanding justice for Eden. But activist Wajeeh Gay Lion tells PinkNews the “reality of the matter is she’s not the first and she won’t be the last” LGBTQ+ Saudi person to die in circumstances like these.

“If you’re a Saudi and you’re a member of the LGBT community, know and accept that your life is always in danger,” he says. 

“The day I accepted that I am queer, the day I accepted that I’m non-binary, the day I accepted that I’m gay, is the same day that I accepted that I could be killed at any minute – and anyone in Saudi Arabia from the LGBT community can tell you the same.”

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