Since 2017, the Chinese government has carried out extensive and systematic abuses against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in East Turkistan. The United Nations and international human rights organizations have concluded that these abuses constitute “crimes against humanity.”  Two leading Uyghur women leaders and activists offer their perspectives on the Uyghur freedom struggle, the challenges facing the Uyghur people, how Uyghur women are at the forefront of fighting for Uyghur freedom, and the need for increased global solidarity and action.

Date: October 21, 2024
Time:  9:30 am (Washington DC). 07:00 pm (New Delhi)
Event Type: Live Podcast (YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn)

Speakers:

Moderator:
Sakina Batt
Host, Freedom Hour, AFI

Live Video Podcast Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AsiaFreedomInstitute/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AsiaFreedomInstitute/streams
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/asia-freedom-institute/

Biographies:

Rushan Abbas
Rushan Abbas started her activism work while she was a student, organizing and leading in the pro-democracy demonstrations at Xinjiang University in 1985 and 1988. She has worked closely with members of Congress since the 1990s. Ms. Abbas was a co-founder of the California-based Uyghur Overseas Student and Scholars Association in 1993, the first such Uyghur association in the United States, and served as that organization’s first Vice-President. The charter co-drafted by Ms. Abbas later served as the blueprint and played an important role in the establishment of the Uyghur American Association (UAA) in 1998. Ms. Abbas was subsequently elected Vice President of UAA for two terms. When Radio Free Asia launched its Uyghur service in 1998, Ms. Abbas was the first Uyghur reporter to broadcast daily to the Uyghur region. In 2017, Rushan Abbas founded the Campaign for Uyghurs to advocate and promote human rights and democratic freedoms for Uyghurs, and mobilize the international community to act to stop the human rights atrocity in East Turkistan.

Zubayra Shamseden
Zubayra Shamseden is Chinese Outreach Coordinator at the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP). She has been campaigning for the human rights and political freedom of the Uyghur people since the late 1980s. She was elected as Vice President of the World Uyghur Congress for the 2021-2024 term and previously chaired its Human Rights Committee. Before joining UHRP, Ms. Shamseden was Information Officer, Researcher and Translator at the International Uyghur Human Rights and Democracy Foundation. She has worked in multicultural education and community liaison for nonprofit, academic and government organizations in Australia and the U.S. for over two decades. She is fluent in English, Uyghur, Chinese, Uzbek and Russian, and has a working knowledge of Turkish.

Sakina Batt
Sakina Batt is a Producer and Director at Meeting Point, a leading audio-visual production house and buying agency in Nepal and host of Freedom Hour, an initiative of the Asia Freedom Institute. She directs promotional videos, does voice overs, writes scripts and copywriting for the videos in Meeting Point. Sakina worked for Tibet TV at the Central Tibetan Administration in India for four years (2017-2021) where she served as a news presenter and an interview host. She also made short documentaries for the channel, wrote scripts, conducted research, edited videos and anchored the show In Conversation with Tibet TV. Sakina has a Masters in Mass Communication from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi and a bachelors from Delhi University.