Is Public Service Loan Forgiveness going away? Understanding Trump’s executive order

• March 14, 2025

By Eliza Haverstock, NerdWallet

On Mar. 7, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that seeks to limit who can qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). It directs the Education Secretary to write a proposal removing PSLF eligibility for borrowers who work for organizations serving “a substantial illegal purpose.”

Despite the order’s strong language, at this point, no borrowers are at imminent risk of losing their eligibility for PSLF. The program forgives a borrower’s federal student loans after they make 10 year’s worth of payments while working in public service — as teachers, firefighters, police officers, healthcare workers, government workers and other nonprofit employees.

“You’re right to freak out, but if you take a beat and dig into what the executive order says right now, it’s just a directive to change the language [of PSLF] in the future,” says Stanley Tate, a lawyer who specializes in student debt. “How that actually plays out is yet to be written. When it does, there will surely be a response from different advocacy groups that are interested in protecting borrowers moving forward.”

Still, there are steps PSLF-eligible borrowers can take now to prepare for uncertainty, starting with understanding what the executive order does, which borrowers it targets and how to track your own PSLF progress.

» MORE: How the Trump presidency could affect student loan borrowers

What does the PSLF Executive Order do?

The executive order directs Education Department Secretary Linda McMahon to create a proposal limiting PSLF eligibility. In a Mar. 10 post on social media network X, the Education Department wrote, “the PSLF Program is not changing today, and borrowers do not need to take any action.”

On Mar. 12, an Education Department spokesperson said in an email, “President Trump’s executive order will restore the PSLF program to its statutory basis and not allow PSLF to fund anti-American activists. The executive order is narrow in its purpose to ensure certain nonprofits do not inappropriately qualify for PSLF, but does not direct other changes to the program. The Department is reviewing the executive order and will ensure the program is managed effectively for those it is intended to serve.”

However, Tate says he doubts the order, as written, can be legally implemented. PSLF is established by law and cannot be unilaterally altered by the president; Congress would need to vote on any changes. The program has garnered bipartisan support since 2007, when former president George W. Bush, a Republican, signed it into law.

Trump’s executive order “directs the Education Department to find ways to modify the language in order to not enable these organizations that participate in this category of things,” Tate says. “But how do you do that in practice, what type of evidence are you looking for? I think it’s just going to lead to litigation and ultimately nowhere.”

» MORE: With the Education Department under threat, here’s what student loan borrowers can do

Which public service jobs are targeted?

The PSLF executive order doesn’t specify which nonprofit organizations are at risk. Instead, it calls out broad sectors or activities that the Trump administration has repeatedly targeted: immigration and refugee assistance, support for transgender youth and gender-affirming care, and groups championing diversity and inclusion. It also wants to exclude nonprofits that are involved in protests or “supporting terrorism.”

However, the 2007 law that created PSLF does not allow the government to choose which nonprofit organizations are included in the program. It defines eligible borrowers as those who work in fields such as law enforcement, education or social services, and those who work for nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status, which is a specific type of nonprofit that is exempt from federal income tax. Labor unions and partisan political groups were never eligible for PSLF.

Tate says he doesn’t see how Trump’s order could impact employees of the government or 501(c)(3) organizations, because they are expressly written into the original PSLF statute. Congress would have to act to alter that language.

However, the Education Department has interpreted the PSLF statute to expand eligibility to certain non-501(c)(3) organizations that provide a public service. Employers of these non-501(c)(3) organizations could face higher risk, Tate says. That may include some groups that provide legal aid or immigration assistance.

What might happen next?

Student borrower advocacy groups will likely challenge the executive order with lawsuits. For example, American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten said in a Mar. 7 statement, “the AFT won’t stop fighting, in court and in Congress, until every single public service worker gets the help the law affords them.”

Daniel Collier, assistant professor of higher and adult education at the University of Memphis who studies the impact of PSLF on borrowers, says he doubts the order will hold up in court.

However, this action could broadly discourage individuals from exercising their free speech for fear of losing their PSLF eligibility, and it could harm certain nonprofits’ ability to recruit employees, Collier says.

The Trump administration could also hamstring PSLF outside of this executive order. For example, Collier says he’s concerned the Education Department could mismanage PSLF by failing to process forgiveness for borrowers or by miscounting payments.

At one point during Trump’s first term in office, 99% of PSLF applications were denied, according to a 2019 review by the Government Accountability Office. Only 7,000 people had received PSLF by the time Trump left office in 2020. The Biden administration made it easier to qualify for PSLF, resulting in $78.5 billion worth of student loan forgiveness for over 1 million public servants.

» NEWS: Unpacking Trump’s executive orders

What should PSLF-eligible borrowers do right now?

At this point, don’t make financial or career moves based on this executive order.

“I just can’t stress enough, please don’t make decisions based on, understandably, a heightened emotional time,” says Kristen Ahlenius, a certified financial professional with PSLF expertise and director of advice at Your Money Line, a corporate financial wellness company. “Make sure you understand the reality of the situation that you’re in before you decide to abandon a program that can still be so, so, so beneficial.”

We still don’t know which actions the department will take as a result of this order. In this period of uncertainty, borrowers can take these steps now:

• Download your full repayment history from studentaid.gov and your federal student loan servicer account.
• Update your PSLF employment certification forms, using the PSLF Help Tool.
• Download your PSLF payment counts and summary from your studentaid.gov account.
• Check which months of your repayment history qualify for PSLF, and check for any errors. If the Education Department doesn’t resolve the errors, consider filing a student loan complaint.

Collier urges borrowers to be proactive: “Download everything. Keep every receipt. You make a payment, you log it with the proper paperwork,” he says.

PSLF uncertainty can weigh on student loan borrowers’ mental health, too, says Collier. Get help if you need it.

“We’re going to start seeing a lot of downstream effects on individuals’ mental health and how they behave and how productive they are,” Collier says. “Please make sure to protect yourself and find the help that you need to navigate these times.”

» LEARN: How did the PSLF transfer from MOHELA to the Education Department affect borrowers?

Eliza Haverstock writes for NerdWallet. Email: [email protected]. Twitter: @elizahaverstock.

The article Is Public Service Loan Forgiveness Going Away? Understanding Trump’s Executive Order originally appeared on NerdWallet.

​ Orange County Register 

Luka Doncic sitting out Lakers’ road-trip finale against Nuggets

• March 14, 2025

DENVER — The already depleted Lakers will be without Luka Doncic for tonight’s road-trip closing matchup against the Denver Nuggets, which is the second night of a back-to-back set after Thursday’s blowout loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Doncic was ruled out on the team’s Friday afternoon injury report because of left calf injury management and a sprained right ankle.

The 26-year-old Slovenian star was sidelined for 6 ½ weeks from Dec. 25 to Feb. 10 because of a strained left calf.

Doncic was coming off a 45-point, 11-rebound performance against the Bucks, his highest-scoring game with the Lakers.

Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle injury management) and Gabe Vincent (left knee injury management) are also listed as doubtful for Friday. Two-way big man Trey Jemison (illness) is questionable.

The Lakers were already without their starting frontcourt in LeBron James (strained left groin), Jaxson Hayes (bruised right knee) and Rui Hachimura (left patellar tendinopathy).

That trio, along with Maxi Kleber (recovery from right foot surgery), who hasn’t played for the Lakers, flew back to Southern California before the team traveled to Milwaukee.

The Lakers who weren’t on the injury report are Austin Reaves, Dalton Knecht, Jarred Vanderbilt, Alex Len, Cam Reddish, Shake Milton, Markieff Morris, Bronny James, Jordan Goodwin (two-way contract player) and Christian Koloko (two-way contract player).

​ Orange County Register 

Columbia’s Mahmoud Khalil felt he was being kidnapped as detention unfolded, lawyers say

• March 14, 2025

By LARRY NEUMEISTER

NEW YORK (AP) — Handcuffed and shackled, Mahmoud Khalil was rushed from New York to Louisiana last weekend in a manner that left the outspoken Columbia University graduate student feeling like he was being kidnapped, his lawyers wrote in an updated lawsuit seeking his immediate release.

The lawyers described in detail what happened to the Palestinian activist as he was flown to Louisiana by agents he said never identified themselves. Once there, he was left to sleep in a bunker with no pillow or blanket as top U.S. officials cheered the effort to deport a man his lawyers say sometimes became the “public face” of student protests on Columbia’s campus against Israel’s military actions in Gaza.

The filing late Thursday in Manhattan federal court was the result of a federal judge’s Wednesday order that they finally be allowed to speak with Khalil.

The lawyers said his treatment by federal authorities from Saturday, when he was first arrested, to Monday reminded Khalil of when he left Syria shortly after the forced disappearance of his friends there during a period of arbitrary detention in 2013.

“Throughout this process, Mr. Khalil felt as though he was being kidnapped,” the lawyers wrote of his treatment.

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump heralded Khalil’s arrest as the first “of many to come,” vowing on social media to deport students he said engage in “pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity.”

In court papers, lawyers for the Justice Department said Kahlil was detained under a law allowing Secretary of State Marco Rubio to remove someone from the country if he has reasonable grounds to believe their presence or activities would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences.

Trump and Rubio were added as defendants in the civil lawsuit seeking to free Khalil.

The government attorneys asked a judge to toss out the lawsuit or transfer it to New Jersey or Louisiana, saying jurisdiction belongs in the locations where Khalil has been held since his detention.

According to the lawsuit, Khalil repeatedly asked to speak to a lawyer after the U.S. permanent resident with no criminal history was snatched by federal agents as he and his wife were returning to Columbia’s residential housing, where they lived, after dinner at a friend’s home.

Confronted by agents for the Department of Homeland Security, Khalil briefly telephoned his lawyer before he was taken to FBI headquarters in lower Manhattan, the lawsuit said.

It was there that Khalil saw an agent approach another agent and say, “the White House is requesting an update,” the lawyers wrote.

At some point early Sunday, Khalil was taken, handcuffed and shackled, to the Elizabeth Detention Center in Elizabeth, New Jersey, a privately-run facility where he spent the night in a cold waiting room for processing, his request for a blanket denied, the lawsuit said.

When he reached the front of the line for processing, he was told his processing would not occur after all because he was being transported by immigration authorities, it said.

Put in a van, Khalil noticed that one of the agents received a text message instructing that Khalil was not to use his phone, the lawsuit said.

At 2:45 p.m. Sunday, he was put on an American Airlines flight from Kennedy International Airport to Dallas, where he was put on a second flight to Alexandria, Louisiana. He arrived at 1 a.m. Monday and a police car took him to the Louisiana Detention Facility in Jena, Louisiana, it said.

At the facility, he now worries about his pregnant wife and is “also very concerned about missing the birth of his first child,” the lawsuit said.

In April, Khalil was to begin a job and receive health benefits that the couple was counting on to cover costs related to the birth and care of the child, it added.

“It is very important to Mr. Khalil to be able to continue his protected political speech, advocating and protesting for the rights of Palestinians — both domestically and abroad,” the lawsuit said, noting that Khalil was planning to speak on a panel at the upcoming premiere in Copenhagen, Denmark, of a documentary in which he is featured.

At a hearing Wednesday, Khalil’s attorneys said they had not been allowed any attorney-client-protected communications with Khalil since his arrest and had been told they could speak to him in 10 days. Judge Jesse M. Furman ordered that at least one conversation be permitted on Wednesday and Thursday.

​ Orange County Register 

US envoy is taking Putin’s comments on Ukraine ceasefire proposal to Trump, Kremlin official says

• March 14, 2025

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss details of the American proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in the war with Ukraine, asking him to convey Moscow’s thoughts to Washington, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday.

Putin asked Witkoff late Thursday to give additional messages to U.S. President Donald Trump, Peskov told reporters, after the Russian leader said at a news conference that he supported a truce in principle but set out a host of details that need to be clarified before it is agreed.

Trump said the U.S. held “very good and productive” discussions with Putin the day before. In a post on his Truth Social site Friday morning, Trump said “that there is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end,” adding that Ukrainian troops are surrounded by the Russian military.

Ukraine, under severe military pressure on parts of the front line three years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, has already endorsed the truce proposal. Russia’s army has gained battlefield momentum, and analysts say Putin likely will be reluctant to rush into a ceasefire while he feels he has an advantage. The Russian army, backed by North Korean troops, are now close to completely driving Ukrainian forces from their foothold in Russia’s Kursk border region in what would be a major setback for Kyiv.

Ukraine’s General Staff, however, denied Friday that its forces in Kursk are encircled by Moscow’s troops and said that any reports to that effect were “fabricated by the Russians for political manipulation and to exert pressure on Ukraine and its partners.”

A possible phone call between Putin and Trump to settle outstanding ceasefire issues could be arranged after Witkoff delivers the messages in Washington, Peskov said. “There is an understanding on both sides that such a call is needed,” Peskov said.

“There are certainly some grounds for cautious optimism,” Peskov said of the ceasefire proposal. “A lot still needs to be done, but the president has shown solidarity with President Trump’s position.”

U.S. officials have said Washington was set to discuss technical issues related to a possible ceasefire next week. Given the range of issues on the table, and the sharp differences between what Moscow and Kyiv want, it could potentially take weeks or months for the guns to fall silent.

Trump vowed during his election campaign to settle the war in 24 hours, but in January he changed that timeframe, voicing hope that peace could be negotiated in six months.

Putin’s apparently amicable tone toward the White House reflects the remarkable shift in U.S. relations with Russia and Ukraine since Trump returned to office in January. Former President Joe Biden had sought to isolate Putin.

Trump has threatened both Russia and Ukraine with punitive measures if they don’t engage with his peace efforts.

Trump briefly cut off critical military aid and intelligence sharing in an apparent effort to push Kyiv to enter talks on ending the war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a tense meeting at the White House on Feb. 28 in which Trump questioned whether Ukraine wanted to halt the war.

Trump has raised the possibility of tightening sanctions on Russia, though his administration has also repeatedly embraced Kremlin positions on the conflict, including indicating that Ukraine’s hopes of joining NATO are unlikely to be realized and that it probably will not get back the land that Russia’s army occupies, which amounts to nearly 20% of the country.

Meanwhile, Russian air defenses downed four Ukrainian drones attacking the Russian capital early Friday, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. One damaged the roof of an apartment building a few kilometers (miles) from the Kremlin.

Several other buildings were lightly damaged by drone fragments, but there were no injuries, according to emergency officials.

​ Orange County Register 

A Kiss museum is coming to Northridge for one month, and only 6 people will be allowed in daily

• March 14, 2025

The Kiss Army better be ready to deploy quickly on this one because there’s a temporary museum dedicated to the legendary band coming to the San Fernando Valley in May.

But there’s a catch because it’s only happening on select days for one month and only six people will be allowed in per day, plus the organizer isn’t giving out the museum address. Instead people will be picked up at a mall in Northridge and driven to the venue. There’s no word on whether fans will be blindfolded once in the vehicle to keep the location top secret.

Once inside the venue, which is dubbed Knights In Satan Service Museum, Kiss fans who fork over $500 per ticket will be immersed in more than 2,500 band artifacts that includes unique merch, one-of-a-kind collectibles, musical instruments, outfits, toys, records, banners and just about everything any Kiss fan would want to see from the band’s gilded era, spanning from 1973 to 1983.

“Kiss isn’t touring anymore and Kiss fans are really chomping at the bit for something and I thought this is the perfect time to have people come and enjoy it. This is the first time they’ll be able to touch the outfits, to see what it feels like, or see things that there’s only one of or things they’ve only looked at in pictures,” said John 5, a respected guitarist and owner of the expansive collection.

The museum dates are May 5-9, May 12-16, May 19-23 and May 27-30.

This is the first time John 5 has ever exhibited his collection and the musician, who met the members of Kiss in the early 1990s and is now friends with them, is keeping the number of visitors to just six per day because he will be leading all the tours personally and wants to tell the stories behind some of the items he’s collected over decades.

“I want to walk through it with people, I want to be there, I want to go there with them and talk and tell stories,” he said.

John 5 is a successful guitarist who has toured the world with musicians such as Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, Rob Halford and Mötley Crüe. But before that as a kid growing up near Detroit he became obsessed with Kiss after going to Sears with his mom and seeing a record store display for the band’s album “Love Gun.”

“There was a big display of the image of the cover and the music was playing and I was just literally in shock,” he said. “It was a total epiphany for me and it just changed my life and I was obsessed and that was also the year I started playing guitar at 7 years old.”

This obsession led the musician to a lifelong journey of collecting anything he could find related to the band and fans who are lucky enough to score a ticket to his museum will be able to get up close to items that include one of the few known pairs of Gene Simmons’ Destroyer Boots from 1976 and his first outfit from 1974. There will also be banners from the band’s appearance at Woodfield Mall, outside Chicago in 1974 for the “National KISS-Off” kissing contest.

“These are just pieces that are so iconic,” John 5 said.

Kiss pinball machines also became iconic in the late 1970s and of course John 5 has a couple at the collection that he plans on putting to use during the tours.

“At the end we get to play pinball, which will be fun. We’ll just have a really wonderful afternoon that people will remember for a long time,” he said.

For tickets go to john5store.com

​ Orange County Register 

Tamago sando, yakitori, ramen coming to OC Japan Fair 2025

• March 14, 2025

One of Southern California’s largest Japanese cultural festivals, the 16th annual OC Japan Fair, is set to draw an estimated 45,000 people to Costa Mesa’s OC Fair and Event Center on April 4-6. Attendees can explore a vast array of attractions, including performances, cosplay, exhibits and live music, as well as a sprawling food scene showcasing the best of Japanese and Asian cuisine.

Gastronomic highlights will include a live tuna-cutting demonstration, in addition to Japanese fare galore, from traditional dishes to modern favorites. Guests can look forward to ramen from Michelin-recognized Ramen & Tsukemen, taiyaki (fish-shaped griddle cakes) from Mr. Bully, tamago sando (fluffy egg sandwiches) care of Pillow Talk Cafe, bao from Nikuman-Ya and yakitori from Shin-Sen-Gumi, to name a few of the nearly 50 food vendors from around Southern California and beyond.

Beer and sake will also be on hand for the 21-and-over crowd, while boba teas and matcha drinks available for all ages. OC Japan Fair’s 2025 food lineup is as follows:

• 85C Bakery
• All Dat Dumpling
• Aamai-Ya (featuring sweet treats)
• Aoki No Chuuka
• Big and Long Swirl Potato
• Bluey & Co. (coffee)
• Boba Bestie
• Cafe 949 (lobster)
• Daikokuya (ramen)
• NH Foods (gyoza)
• Dreamland Maid Cafe
• Egghausted (tamagoyaki, egg omelets)
• Gindaco
• Gold Mench & Uma Lemonade
• Gong Su Gan
• Hawaiian Honey Cones
• HGG Tanghulu (glassy, sugar-coated fruit)
• Honda-Ya
• Japadog
• Jungle Wings (crispy chicken)
• Kagura
• Kanto Filipino Street Food
• Kondo Sando
• Kyoto Tender
• Lucky Ball (Korean barbecue)
• Mr. Bully (taiyaki)
• Mr. Teddy Baker (katsu sando)
• Nikuman-Ya (hand-made bao)
• Okamoto Kitchen (anime food truck)
• Omusubi House
• Osaka Hashimaki (savory pancakes on chopsticks)
• Osaka Ohsho (gyoza)
• Osaka Street Food
• Pillow Talk Cafe (fluffy egg sandwiches)
• Ramen & Tsukemen (Michelin-recognized ramen)
• Rated R Ramen Burger
• Shin-Sen-Gumi (yakitori)
• Sukiyuki LA
• Taiyookie (fish-shaped waffles with savory and sweet fillings)
• Takoyaki Tanota
• Takoyaki Yamachan
• Temaki Time (handroll sushi)
• Tokyo Yakisoba
• Tonkatsu Marushichi
• Waffleland
• Wagyu Street
• Yakitoriyado (skewered chicken)
• Yakitori Yado Matcha Latte

OC Japan Fair happens from Friday, April 4 from 4 p.m. until 10 p.m., Saturday, April 5 from noon until 10 p.m. and Sunday, April 6 from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m.

Admission prices are $15 for general admission for tickets purchased in advance online or $18 for general admission for tickets purchased onsite. Free entry for children under 6 and seniors 65 and over. Parking costs $12.

Find it: OC Fair & Event Center, 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa

​ Orange County Register 

China, Russia and Iran call for end to US sanctions on Iran and the restart of nuclear talks

• March 14, 2025

By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Representatives of China, Russia and Iran called Friday for an end to U.S. sanctions on Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program and a restart to multinational talks on the issue.

The three countries’ meeting was the latest attempt to broach the matter and come after U.S. President Donald Trump wrote to Iran’s supreme leader in an attempt to jumpstart talks.

The letter, which hasn’t been published, was offered as Trump levied new sanctions on Iran as part of his “maximum pressure” campaign that holds out the possibility of military action while emphasizing he still believed a new deal could be reached.

China, Russia and Iran “emphasized the necessity of terminating all unlawful unilateral sanctions,” China’s Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu read from a joint statement, flanked by Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov Sergey Alexeevich and Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi.

“The three countries reiterated that political and diplomatic engagement and dialogue based on the principle of mutual respect remains the only viable and practical option in this regard,” Ma read.

In comments to the three representatives, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reinforced China’s commitment to a peaceful settlement and opposition to “illegal” sanctions, China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported.

He added that China remains committed to the framework of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the nuclear deal between Iran and six major countries — the U.S., Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany — as “the basis for new consensus.”

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has mocked Trump, saying he wasn’t interested in talks with a “bullying government,” although Iranian officials have offered conflicting signals over the possibility of negotiations. Trump sent a letter to Khamenei in 2019 with no apparent effect on rising tensions.

China and Russia are both permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, along with France and Britain, that took part in the original 2015 Iran nuclear deal preliminary framework agreement. Trump withdrew America from the accord in 2018, setting in motion years of tensions in the wider Middle East.

China and Russia have particularly close relations with Iran through energy deals and Iran has provided Russia with bomb-carrying drones in its war against Ukraine.

They are also seen as sharing a joint interest in diminishing the role of the U.S. and other liberal democracies in determining world events in favor of their own highly authoritarian systems.

Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful. However, its officials increasingly threaten to pursue a nuclear weapon. Iran now enriches uranium to near weapons-grade levels of 60%, the only country in the world without a nuclear weapons program to do so.

Under the original 2015 nuclear deal, Iran was allowed to enrich uranium only up to 3.67% purity and to maintain a uranium stockpile of 300 kilograms (661 pounds). The last report by the International Atomic Energy Agency on Iran’s program put its stockpile at 8,294.4 kilograms (18,286 pounds) as it enriches a fraction of it to 60% purity.

While Iran has maintained it won’t negotiate under duress, its economy has been savaged by the U.S. sanctions. Protests over women’s rights, the economy and Iran’s theocracy in recent years have shaken its government.

China has sought to become more involved in Middle Eastern affairs and a year ago hosted talks leading to the full restoration of diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Associated Press journalist Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.

​ Orange County Register 

The United Nations is an enabler of Saudi Arabia’s oppression of women

• March 14, 2025

A few years ago, I read a memoir that has stayed with me. It tells the story of Rahaf Mohammed, a young Saudi woman who, in 2019, made headlines for escaping state-endorsed family abuse in Saudi Arabia and live-tweeting her escape. The book impacted me not only because of the riveting events, which couldn’t have been imagined by the most creative Hollywood writer, but also because of Rahaf’s bravery and determination to seek freedom. I think about her story often—her resolve to seek a better life is nothing short of inspiring. 

Rahaf executed an escape that could’ve cost her life. She wasn’t just escaping her family, she was renouncing Islam and fleeing an entire regime that is hell-bent on treating women worse than animals. A regime that endorsed and encouraged the abuse she was suffering, and that punishes dissenters like Rahaf with public decapitation using a sword. 

Rahaf has said that women are treated like slaves in Saudi Arabia. In her memoir, she recalls that in school she was taught that women are “less than men and were created to obey them, care for them and provide them with sexual gratification.” 

In describing her plight throughout the book, Rahaf explains that she was routinely brutally beaten by her family members. In one instance, she recalls that her brother “bashed [her] against the wall” for having received the gift of a guitar without permission. He later smashed the guitar on her head. Another time, he beat her up for having walked home alone: “By the time he was finished with me, I had a black eye and he had a clump of my hair in his hand.” 

“Honor killings” are routinely carried out for women who’ve engaged in unauthorized sexual relations—even if against their will. Rahaf was sexually assaulted in a taxi once, and she writes that “the beast who did that to me knew he would get away with it because I would be found guilty of losing the family’s honor, and my life would be the price paid to restore that honor.”

Saudi Arabia’s ‘guardianship system’ grants male relatives total control over a woman’s life, commanding decisions about marriage, travel, work, and what she can study. Rahaf explains that her brother “had control over … what I should wear, what I should eat, where I go, who I can see and go out with.” 

Women have no rights in Saudi Arabia. As Rahaf puts it, in Saudi “a woman is a nullity.” It’s hard to overstate the level of abuse, misogyny, and oppression that these women endure—all endorsed by the State. “I had to leave, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to live my own life,” explains Rahaf. 

Thankfully, leave she did: she was granted asylum in Canada and now lives in freedom. Over 12 million other Saudi women can’t say the same. 

Just as I think of Rahaf’s bravery often, I also think about those who enabled the evil that she endured; those who are intellectually and morally responsible for what she went through. Among them is an undeservingly cherished institution: the U.N.

The U.N., an organization that most people expect to stand up for human rights, has done nothing but prop up the Saudi regime, giving it a veneer of respectability on the international stage. Despite myriad human rights violations against women, Saudi Arabia remains a U.N. member in good standing, and it gets a voice and a vote within the organization, on par with rights-respecting nations.

The U.N. goes as far as to elevate Saudi Arabia’s treatment of women. Earlier this week, the Kingdom was appointed as chair of the U.N. Women’s Rights Commission. That is not a typo—Saudi Arabia, the regime that oppressed Rahaf and millions of other women as a matter of state policy, is in charge of monitoring the rights of women worldwide.

This is not the first time that the U.N. has propped up Saudi Arabia in this regard. In the past, this regime has been appointed to several entities and committees dedicated to protecting the very rights it denies. The U.N. has been providing moral cover for the Saudis by elevating the regime as alleged leaders in the respect of women’s rights.

Hillel Neuer, executive director of the human right group UN Watch, said of the designation of Saudi Arabia to the Women’s rights Commission: “It’s surreal. Electing Saudi Arabia to head the world body for protecting women’s rights is like putting Dracula in charge of the blood bank.”

Neuer’s analogy is apt, but Saudi Arabia’s designation is not surreal—it’s in keeping with the nature of the U.N., which has no concern for morality and turns a blind eye to brutal human rights abuses worldwide and whitewashes them.

The Saudis are not an outlier; they’re part of a broader pattern. As I’ve written in this column before, the U.N.’s founding principle of amoral neutrality puts all countries on equal footing, regardless of their respect or repudiation of individual rights. Barbaric abusers like Saudi Arabia or Venezuela get a seat at the table next to essentially free countries like the U.S. or Canada. This amoral approach makes the U.N. hand out leadership opportunities equally, as if countries who encourage “honor killings” were the same as those who guarantee equal rights for all individuals.

The U.N. is an enabler of Saudi Arabia’s crushing of women. It does so by providing them with moral cover and a seat at the table, by giving them a vote, by putting them in leadership positions for protecting the very rights they deny. The U.N. is part of the intellectual trend that propels, whitewashes and empowers this massive evil. 

The barbaric treatment Rahaf endured seems unimaginable to those of us in the West, particularly in America. Yet we’re endorsing and funding an organization that whitewashes that evil and props up torturers. It’s past time to seriously question if America, the freest country on earth, belongs there.

Agustina Vergara Cid is a Young Voices Contributor. You can follow her on X at @agustinavcid

​ Orange County Register