The CCP’s Genocide against the Uyghurs: Rooting out the “Heart and Soul” of Uyghur Communities One Woman at a Time

This installment of Fortis! is based on research conducted by ACWPS and an interview between ACWPS Research Fellow Peter Tozzi and Rushan Abbas. Rushan is a daughter, sister, wife, and mother—equally as important, she is a Uyghur human rights activist and founder of Campaign for Uyghurs, a non-profit organization that gives a voice to Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim, Central Asian people. She sheds light on the genocide against the Uyghurs in East Turkistan (also known as Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region) by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). For Rushan’s courage in speaking up for those without a voice, Chinese authorities attempted to silence her in 2018 by detaining her sister, Dr. Gulshan Abbas. Since then, Rushan has relentlessly spoken out for her sister and has amplified her advocacy for Uyghur rights through giving speeches to various audiences around the world, publishing reports, collaborating with kindred organizations, and testifying before U.S. Congress. More information about Rushan and Campaign for Uyghurs can be found here.
Uyghur women are the “heart and soul” of their communities. They are their families’ primary caretakers, teachers, “emotional anchors,” and role models for their children. They are peacekeepers, serving as the connective tissue between family members, and between each family within the larger Uyghur community. Uyghur women cultivate communities of hope. These communities are predicated on social cohesion, faithful adherence to religious practices, and ultimately, the bearing of children and the passing on of tradition.
However, the CCP mandates a society without hope; Beijing’s rulers have placed over 1 million Uyghurs in some 380 internment camps. In and out of the camps, the CCP stifles Uyghur population growth with forced abortions and sterilizations, subjects Uyghur women to brutal rapes, and tears the family apart by carrying out family separation campaigns, embedding party-state agents within homes, and enforcing Uyghur-Han interethnic marriages. The CCP intends to root out the “heart and soul” of Uyghur communities one woman at a time.
https://www.wpscouncil.org/our-blog-fortis/the-ccps-genocide-against-the-uyghurs-rooting-out-the-heart-and-soul-of-uyghur-communities-one-woman-at-a-time