What you sow, so shall you reap. This saying aptly describes the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) in light of recent evidence-backed claims by three women, exposing the dark reality that the WUC leadership has subjected women to sexual abuse and harassment with impunity.
For years, the WUC has levelled accusations against China for depriving Uyghur women of their rights, including claims of forced sterilisation. Ironically, the WUC, which has been trying to tarnish China’s moral standing, has now fallen into disgrace after facing multiple allegations of sexual harassment against women within its own ranks. A student activist who accused a prominent Uyghur leader of sending inappropriate messages said she has spent weeks battling defamatory attacks from his supporters, which escalated after he retracted a public apology.
Two other Turkish women shared their experiences of sexual abuse at the hands of the powerful WUC leadership in interviews with Radio Free Asia (RFA), though they chose to remain anonymous to avoid expected backlash. A recent interview with RFA’s Uyghur language service, in which the accused WUC leader dismissed the harassment allegations as part of a Chinese conspiracy, has since been removed.
Despite the WUC’s grandiose promises to investigate these claims and prevent further institutional damage, little progress has been made. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Institute of International Relations and Media Research (IIRMR) conducted a study on reports of women’s rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. In response to media allegations of “systematic rape” in so-called Xinjiang camps, the report debunked such claims, asserting that no systematic rape or sexual abuse has occurred. China’s constitution guarantees human rights, and the country has made unprecedented achievements in women’s liberation and development, ensuring women of all ethnic groups enjoy political, cultural, labour, and family rights under the law.
The WUC is also facing significant embarrassment within the Islamic world, as many Muslim countries view it as a political proxy for the US and the West, using the issue of women’s rights abuses to destabilise Xinjiang. The exposure of the WUC’s hidden agenda has led to widespread condemnation, with the Muslim world increasingly distancing itself from the WUC’s propaganda.
Saudi Arabia, for instance, has openly rejected the WUC’s narrative, which includes claims of human rights violations such as arbitrary detention, torture, and forced sterilisation in Xinjiang. During a 2019 visit to China, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman expressed support for China’s counter-terrorism and de-extremism policies, stating, “We respect and support China’s rights to take counter-terrorism and de-extremism measures to safeguard national security.”
Other Arab states have also lent support to China, actively assisting Beijing in exposing the WUC’s malice. Egypt, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the UAE have all extradited Uyghur criminals. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), representing 57 Muslim-majority countries, praised China for its care of Muslim citizens. In 2023, a delegation of over 30 renowned Islamic scholars from 14 countries, led by Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, chairman of the World Muslim Communities Council, visited Xinjiang’s capital, Urumqi. They dismissed the WUC’s claims as baseless and commended China’s anti-terrorism efforts.
Pakistan’s IIRMR also conducted an investigation into the UK-based Uyghur Tribunal’s allegations concerning birth control and sterilisation measures purportedly carried out by China against Uyghur women. Established at the urging of the WUC, the self-styled Uyghur Tribunal lacks legal standing under the UN Genocide Convention, which it claims to base its findings on. The tribunal operates as a “Private Company Limited by Guarantee,” a business structure typically used by non-profit organisations. Its funding, around $115,000, came primarily from the WUC, which is supported by the US-based National Endowment for Democracy (NED), widely seen as a front for advancing US regime change operations.
The WUC, classified as a terrorist organisation responsible for ethnic violence and tensions between Uyghurs and Han Chinese, has distorted Islam to serve its extremist agenda, earning condemnation from Muslims worldwide. The Uyghur genocide narrative has been debunked with facts. Over the past 60 years since the establishment of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the Uyghur population has grown from 2.2 million to 12 million, while average life expectancy has risen from 30 to 74.7 years. These figures challenge the WUC’s claims and highlight the organisation’s crumbling credibility.
Yasir Habib Khan
The writer is the president of Institute of International Relations and Media Research (IIRMR).He tweets at @yaseerkhan.
