From Veil to Voice: Jasmin Faulk’s Rebellion Against Fundamentalist Islam (Part 1)
A Little Bit Culty
Sarah Edmondson & Anthony “Nippy” Ames
4.6 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 4 August 2025
⏱️ 54 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week’s guest is Jasmin Faulk, an author and advocate who risked everything to reclaim her freedom. Born to a Saudi father and Italian mother, Jasmin grew up in a country where girls were silenced, veiled, and made invisible.
In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, Jasmin takes us inside the dark realities of growing up under fundamentalist Islam in 1980s and 90s Saudi Arabia—from gender segregation and religious policing, to the suffocating control of male guardianship. We unpack the slow burn of her rebellion, including the moment she pulled off her veil in public, and the dangerous path she navigated to leave her marriage and escape the kingdom altogether.
It’s a gripping, gut-punching story of survival, defiance, and the fight for a life on her own terms, and a stark reminder that cult dynamics don’t always come with a guru or group name. Sometimes, they come wrapped in flags, holy books, and the illusion of tradition.
Trigger warnings for those sensitive to stories of systemic misogyny or religious trauma.
Find more on Jasmin at www.jasminfaulk.com, or follow her on Instagram @jasmin.faulk and YouTube @Jasmin-Faulk. Her memoir, The Last Sandstorm, is available now wherever books are sold.
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Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames
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Transcript
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| 0:29.7 | This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal, medical, |
| 0:34.0 | medical, or mental health advice. The views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast and are not intended to malign any |
| 0:41.5 | religion group, club, organization, business, individual, anyone, or anything. |
| 0:55.8 | I'm Sarah Edmondson. |
| 0:57.6 | And I'm Anthony Nippy Ames. |
| 1:00.3 | And this is A Little Bit Calti. |
| 1:01.9 | Cults are commonplace now. |
| 1:04.3 | From fandums to fads, we're examining them all. |
| 1:08.6 | We look at what happens when things that seem like a great thing at first go bad. |
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| 1:21.3 | too smart to get sucked into something culty, you might be prime recruitment material, and who |
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