Qelbinur’s story – Forced sterilisation in China

Up to 1.8 million Uyghurs have been forced into to ‘re-education’ camps. The Chinese government has also enforced systematic sterilisation policies on Uyghur women to reduce the birth rate of the minority.

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Qelbinur Sediq in exile in EuropeQelbinur Sediq in exile in Europe

Themes: Sexual and gender-based violence, torture, arbitrary detention, inhuman treatment, forced sterilisation, genocide

The Uyghurs are an ethnic and religious minority. The majority of Uyghurs are Muslims. Around 11 million Uyghurs live in the northwest province of Xinjiang in China, where the practice of Islam and of Uyghur culture are severely repressed. Any independent religious activity is deemed extremist. The Chinese government has punished women for wearing veils and men for growing beards.

Up to 1.8 million Uyghurs and members of other Muslim-majority ethnic minorities have been sent to concentration camps for ‘re-education’. The Chinese government has also enforced systematic sterilisation policies on girls and women between the ages of 18 and 59 years old in an attempt to suppress population growth. This has had a dramatic effect on the birth rate for this group.

Listen to Qelbinur Sedik, a Uyghur woman who has been living in the Netherlands since 2019, waiting for her asylum application to be processed. Qelbinur has seen these camps first-hand and felt the government policies on her own body.

SOURCES 

FORB Learning Platform online on-demand course FORB and gender equality – enemies or allies? A bird’s eye view on FORB and women’s rights module.
The Guardian