Internationally acclaimedhuman rights group like the Rene Cassin Foundation and the Faith and Violence Against Women and Girls (FVAWG) Coalition are set to hold an event on March 4, a combined press statement by the organisations stated.
Titled, Weaponization of Faith Against Uyghur Women, the event will be organised on the sidelines of International Women’s Day, celebrated on March 8.
The press statement also stated “We inspire all women to stand in solidarity and against violence against women and religious persecution. Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in the Uyghur Region in China are suffering from persecution. Millions of Uyghurs are imprisoned in a vast network of camps. Uyghur prisoners are used as slave labour in their millions, both in factories attached to the camps and in cotton fields which supply clothing manufacturers around the world”.
The statement also mentioned, “Uyghur women are denied freedom of religion and belief. Women’s religious learning and religious gatherings, daily prayer, and wearing the hijab have all been explicitly criminalised”
The denial of Uyghur women’s freedom of religion or belief should be understood in the context of other abuses of Uyghur women’s rights, including gender-based violence in detention, forced sterilisation and abortion, and forced marriage.
As we mark International Women’s Day, we will explore the intersection between the faith and gender-specific aspects of the Uyghur genocide and in particular its impact on Uyghur women. Furthermore, the event will be moderated by Mia Hasenson-Gross, the executive director of Rene Cassin Foundation and Elizabeth Gezahegn King from the FVAWG Coalition”.
The Faith and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Coalition is a partnership of organisations led by the Safety Across Faith and Ethnic (SAFE) Communities project at Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse. Additionally, located in Strasbourg and founded by Rene Cassin, the Rene Cassin Foundation–International Institute of Human Rights has been working since 1969 to defend and promote human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the world, through teaching and research.
According to the press statement, during the event, lectures will be delivered by Rachel Harris, Rahima Mahmut and Ewelina Ochab.
The speaker Rachel Harris is a Reader in Ethnomusicology at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Her research is centred on China and Central Asia, and especially on the Uyghurs. Additionally, Rahima Mahmut is a London-based singer, translator, human rights activist, and public speaker. She was born in Ghulja, near the border of Kazakhstan. Ewelina U. Ochab is a programme lawyer with the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, human rights advocate, author and co-founder of the Coalition for Genocide Response.
