American woman Onijah Andrew Robinson has become a viral sensation after she claimed to have flown to Pakistan to marry a 19-year-old she met online and then refused to leave the country after being rebuffed. Robinson is now something of a star in Pakistan, holding large press conferences in Karachi during which she’s demanded money and told reporters that she plans to “rebuild” the country. Up until about a week ago, Robinson’s situation was mainly of interest to Pakistani media. However, she has since gone international thanks to TikTok, where she’s become known as “that American woman in Pakistan.” What is going on here?
Who is Onijah Robinson?
Robinson, 32, reportedly arrived in Karachi in October with plans to marry Nidal Ahmed Memon. According to Bilal Hassan, a Pakistani TikToker who has been translating this situation into English, Robinson had catfished Memon during their online conversations, using a filter that made her look like a blonde white woman when she is actually a Black woman. Memon’s mother was apparently disturbed by this and proceeded to lock Robinson out of their home and leave with the whole family. “Nobody knows where they went,” Hassan claims.
And Robinson is still in Pakistan?
This left Robinson alone in Karachi, where the Daily Mail reported she was photographed camping outside of Memon’s apartment complex. In recent weeks, the Pakistani media has become interested in Robinson, and she caught the eye of a philanthropist named Ramzan Chhipa, who has been trying to help her get back to the United States. However, Robinson is apparently uninterested. In a press conference with Chhipa, Robinson seemed erratic, switching between yelling at him and telling the media, “My plan is to reconstruct this whole country, okay? I’m asking for 100K or more. I need 20K by this week.”
@kickoffkings01 NEW: New York woman flies to Pakistan to meet and marry a teenager, demands $100,000 from the government after the teen’s parents objected. 33-year-old Onijah Andrew Robinson said during a press conference that she plans to reconstruct all of Pakistan. Robinson was seen camping out outside 19-year-old Nidal Ahmed Memon’s house after his parents shot down the alleged relationship. After the family reportedly fled the area, Robinson held press conferences, sharing her bold new vision for Pakistan. “My plan is to rebuild this entire country. I'm asking for $100k, and I need $20k in cash by the end of this week. That's my demand from the government.” The New Yorker reportedly refused flights back to the United States. A man claiming to be her son, Jeremiah Robinson, says she suffers from a “mental bipolar disorder,” and they are working to get her home. It’s unclear at the moment if she has made it back #women #americanwomen🇺🇸 #pakistan #viral_video #fyp #london
♬ original sound - KickoffKings
She also claimed to be from Pakistan, and that she and Memon were going to have their baby in Dubai. By all accounts, Robinson is not pregnant.
@murtazaviews American citizen Onijah, who is in Pakistan’s Karachi for her lover, has demanded $20,000 – out of the $100,000 – by this week from the government while addressing a press conference alongside charity organisation head Ramzan Chhipa. “My plan is to reconstruct this whole country. I am asking for $100K or more. I need $20K by this week. OK in my pocket and cash OK that’s a demand to the government. The government is going to fix up these buildings, fix up the streets and clean up these streets. It’s ridiculous out here. I do not like it,” Onijah Andrew Robinson said at a press conference alongside charity organisation head Ramzan Chhipa in Karachi. Chhipa described the woman as his “American sister.” But the lady interrupted and claimed that she was from Pakistan. She urged the people to respect the law and God. “I am married to Nidal Ahmed Memon. I am Onijah Ahmed, we are going to move to Dubai very soon,” she said and demanded that Karachi be re-constructed.
♬ original sound - Murtaza Ali Shah
According to the Daily Mail, someone claiming to be Robinson’s son posted a video (which seems to have been deleted) in which he explained that his mother suffers from bipolar disorder and that he was trying to get her back to the States. “She can’t think correctly at this moment,” he explained. “She was not married to nobody. I’m trying to help her.”
Why is she all over TikTok?
If you’re reading all of this and thinking, Sounds like this woman is not well and people should probably not be laughing at this, well, I think you’re right. But that has not stopped TikTok from going gaga over her.
@itstharealtiara American Lady in Pakistan I’m screaminggggg 🤣🤣 #fypシ #fyppppppppppppppp #viral #americanwoman #americanlady #americanladyinpakistan #onijah
♬ original sound - Monkey ASMR🐒 - Monkey ASMR🐒
@ozzyshah I’m officially so invested in this American woman in Pakistan #fyp #foryou #americanladyinpakistan #ladyinpakistan #pakistan
♬ original sound - Ozzy Shah
According to Hassan, the Pakistani TikToker, Robinson is still in the country and is being taken care of by Chhipa.
@mystapaki Pakistani breaking down the American Lady in Pakistan drama #americanladyinpakistan #americanlady #onija #onijah
♬ original sound - Bilal Hassan
He also says that when her tourist visa expired, she was granted a “humanitarian visa” by the governor of the Sindh province, but that it expires on February 11.
If it’s possible for there to be a silver lining here, Hassan says he was glad that the kindness and hospitality being extended by the Pakistani people to Robinson was all over people’s “For You” page: “I’m happy that people are seeing us for how we are.”