Hidden sterilisation of woman in China

The Xinjiang region of China has had a long history of discord between the authorities and the indigenous ethnic Uighur population. Most Uighurs are Muslim and Islam is a part of their life and identity. Their language is related to Turkish and they regard themselves as culturally close to Central Asian nations. The region has autonomy and occasional independence but came under Chinese rule in the 18th century. In the 1990s, open support for separatist groups emerged after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of independent Muslim states in Central Asia. However, Beijing suppressed demonstrations. 

However, development in the region has brought new residents. In the 2000 census, Han Chinese made up 40% of the population. This has resulted in ethnic tensions, with the attraction of young and technically qualified Han Chinese to the region. The Han Chinese are said to be given the best jobs and the majority do well economically. Activists say that Uighur commercial and cultural activities have been halted by the Chinese state, with severe restrictions on Islam. For example, in July 2014 some Xinjiang government departments banned Muslim civil servants from fasting during the holy month of Ramadan. 

This has resulted in large scale ethnic rioting in the region capital. At least 31 people were killed and more than 90 suffered injuries in May 2014 when two cars crashed through an Urumqi market and explosives were tossed into the crowd. There have also been reports of mass sentencings and arrests of several terror groups. This has resulted in the Chinese state merely strengthening its control of the Uighurs. 

Recently, a report from the Canberra-based Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), said that at least 80,000 Uighurs have been transferred from Xinjiang province, some directly from detention centres, to factories across China. In conditions that "strongly suggest forced labour", the report says, workers live in segregated dormitories, are required to study Mandarin and undergo ideological training. They are subject to surveillance and barred from observing religious practices. These factories were part of supply chains providing goods for 83 global brands, the report found, including Apple, Nike and Volkswagen. 

China is increasingly under scrutiny for its policies towards Uighurs in Xinjiang, where as many as 1.5 million people have been sent to re-education and internment camps. The report adds to evidence that after being released from these camps, former detainees are still subject to severe control and in some cases forced labour. Advertisements for government-sponsored Uighur labour have begun to appear more frequently online, according to researchers. 

Uighur women 

Women have been subjected to greater abuse in these ethnic communities and have spoken out about their torture by the Chinese state. I read an article about one woman called Mihrigul Tursun on CBS news, where she said that she was interrogated for four days in a row without sleep, had her hair shaved and was subjected to an intrusive medical examination, following her second arrest in China in 2017. Human rights groups say that China has detained up to 2 million Uighurs to promote what the government calls "ethnic unity" in the country. 

Raised in China, Tursun moved to Egypt to study English at university and soon met her husband and had triplets. In 2015, Tursun traveled to China to spend time with her family and was immediately detained and separated from her infant children. When Tursun was released 3 months later, one of her triplet died and the other two had health problems. Tursun said that the children had been operated on. 

Months later, she was detained again and spent 3 months cramped, suffocating in a prison cell, having to sleep in turns, use the toilet infront of security cameras and sing songs praising China's Communist Party. Tursun said she and other inmates were forced to take an unknown medication, including pills that made them faint and a white liquid that cause bleeding some women and loss of menstruation in others. 

One day, Tursun said she was led into a room and placed in a high chair and her legs and arms were locked in place. She said: "I don't remember the rest. White foam came out of my mouth, and I began to lose consciousness. The last word I heard them saying is that you being an Uighur is a crime." 

Chinese authorities are carrying out forced abhorrent sterilisation of women in these camps to curb the growth of the ethnic minority. This is evident with the fact that population growth in Xinjiang counties predominantly home to this ethnic minority fell below the average growth in primarily Han majority counties between 2017 and 2018. Uighur activists say China is using internment camps to conduct massive brainwashing campaigns aimed at eradicating their distinct culture and Islamic identity. 

Today the Chinese government is essentially carrying out a demographic campaign of genocide. China has of course denied this, with the foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian attacking media outlets for "cooking up false information on Xinjiang-related issues" saying at a press briefing that Xinjiang is "harmonious and stable." 

But the stories speak for themselves. If you put Uighur into google, you will be able to read more stories on different women and men's experiences in these camps. Something that cannot just be made up. Concentration camps like the ones orchestrated by Hitler in World War 2 are still happening today. It is crazy that the Chinese government is secretly pushing this under the rug, hiding it from the world. China is commanding a slow, painful, creeping genocide.