The Uyghurs, a Turkic ethnic group, hit the headlines in July 2009 following violent clashes with the ethnic Chinese Han in northwestern China. The root (although not the immediate) cause of the unrest seems to have been frustration at China’s discriminatory policies against the Uyghurs, and repression of their distinctive cultural identity.
The Uyghurs are a diverse group. Most are Muslim. Some have nationalist aspirations, some support a Pan-Islamic vision, while others are much more assimilated into Chinese culture.
This report is worth reading in full. It describes the way the Uyghurs are being marginalised by discrimination and the mass resettlement of Han Chinese in East Turkestan, a traditionally Uyghur region. Most shocking are the apparent deliberate attempts to ethnically cleanse the Uyghur population.
At the same time, Uyghurs, especially young, marriage-aged women and girls, are forced by authorities to participate in labor transfer programs to urban factories in eastern China. Since 2006, many thousands of female Uyghurs have been removed from East Turkestan and placed into abusive and oppressive working and living conditions.
This report offers a more detailed, and harrowing account, of conditions for these young women, explaining how they are both bullied and bribed into moving hundreds of miles from their families.
Women complained of harsh, prison-like work conditions with severe limitations on their freedom, in addition to being forced to work inhumane hours. The food and living conditions have also reportedly turned out to be extremely poor … In addition to this, independent reports have also suggested that many of these girls are pressured into marriage with local Chinese men, with many facing a punishment which they are unwilling to disclose for their refusing this offer. Moreover, cancelling their work-contract, means the girls and their families are penalized heavily with either unaffordable fines or hasha. In the end, escape means the young women must find their way back home across China penniless and utterly broke.
The Uyghurs get comparatively little coverage in the media. It is depressing to read the comments after Uyghur-themed YouTube videos – most commenters seem divided into those who hate them because they are evil Muslims and those who hate them because they are agents of the evil USA.
