The places where oppression, violations of religious freedom, and struggles for identity unfold may change, yet the stories are so alike... Today, in different parts of the world—whether in East Turkistan or nearby Azerbaijan—women continue to face discrimination, restrictions, and oppression simply because of their beliefs and choices.
She was turned away at the kindergarten gate.
Abida Tohtihaji
She was denied entry to the kindergarten where she had gone to pick up her children because she wore a headscarf; she was also unable to attend parent meetings. Police repeatedly came to her workplace and demanded that she remove it. One day, she was stopped in the street and told that she would be detained if she continued wearing a headscarf.
Her mother was beaten before her eyes.
Esma Eli, Karakash, 2014
In 2014, Esma went with her family to a police station in Karakash. According to her account, police shouted at her mother for entering the station wearing a headscarf. They then pulled her by the hair and beat her in front of her children.
Either your headscarf or your teaching career.
A Teacher, Aksu
A Uyghur woman working as a teacher in Aksu wore a headscarf because she had lost her hair due to an illness. The school administration demanded that she remove it. She explained her condition and asked for permission to keep wearing it; nevertheless, she was threatened with dismissal from her teaching position if she refused to remove her headscarf.
A mother turned away at the school gate.
A woman beaten in front of her children.
A teacher subjected to pressure for wearing a headscarf.
The reason was the same in every case: a headscarf.
