Raise Your Voice
Supporting the Rights of Uyghur Women
The Fight for Freedom
Uyghur women are subject to rape, forced sterilization, and imprisonment at the hands of the Chinese government. China silences their voices by monitoring their communications and punishing those who speak out. Despite this, a number of brave Uyghur women have shared their stories and called for action. We believe that as advocates of women’s rights, we must amplify their message and fight for their freedom.
Hear their Stories
Gulbahar Haitiwaji
Qelbinur Sidik
Tursunay Ziyawudun
Zumrat Dawut
Timeline
China forces approximately 400,000 young unmarried Uyghur women into low wage labor roles away from their homes. The women were often prohibited from returning home.
China Assimilates Uyghur Women
2007
Uyghur women are prohibited from wearing Islamic veils.
2015
China Prepares for Large-Scale Repression
2016
China appoints Chen Quanguo, an official known for his heavy-handed approach in Tibet, to oversee the anti-Uyghur policies in Xinjiang.
China initiates comprehensive surveillance systems by tracking Uyghur people’s social media and phone records, collecting their DNA data, and tracking their movement through facial recognition.
CCP department of justice orders establishment of “re-education” camps, and over one million Uyghurs are detained.
Uyghur women in the camps are subjected to rape and torture.
Uyghurs imprisoned in concentration camps, women subject to rape
2017
China dismantles Uyghur families, women forcibly sterilized
2018-2019
Uyghur children are forcibly removed from their families and enrolled in special preschools designed to assimilate them into Han Chinese culture. The children are subjected to near-constant indoctrination with CCP propaganda and prevented from speaking Uyghur.
China’s new “Pair Up and Become a Family” initiative forces Uyghur families to “adopt” an assigned Han “relative”. Women report being forced to share their bed with their assigned male “relative,” often after their husbands were imprisoned in the camps.
Uyghur women are forcibly sterilized. Women have IUDs inserted without strings, preventing non-surgical removal. Some are irreversibly sterilized by tubal ligation.
Female survivors speak out
2019
Mihirigul Tursun testifies in Washington DC about her experiences in the concentration camps, garnering significant media attention, and backlash from the Chinese government.
Following Mihrigul, numerous women testify about their experiences in the camps, such as Tursunay Ziyawudun, Gulbahar Haitiwaji, Zumrat Dawut, Qelbinur Sidik, and Gulbahar Jelilova.
China responds to these accusations by slandering women who testified, such as by claiming the women had affairs, or had STDs.
China shuts down communication
Present
China prevents journalists and independent investigators from entering the Uyghur region. Uyghur phones are monitored to limit their foreign communication.
China wants to ensure that Uyghur testimony is silenced. Raise your voice to advocate for the Uyghur people.