Uighur women post: Twitter removes Chinese embassy in US’ tweet

The embassy’s tweet had asserted that Muslim minority Uighur women were “emancipated” by Beijing’s efforts to “eradicate extremism” in its northwestern Xinjiang province, reports Hong Kong Free Press.

The post shared an article by state media China Daily last Thursday denying reports of forced sterilisation of Uighur women by Chinese authorities. Instead, the article claimed the decrease in the Uighur population in Xinjiang was a result of the “eradication of religious extremism” which gave women more “autonomy", reports Hong Kong Free Press.

“They are more confident and independent,” the removed tweet had read, saying authorities’ population control measures promoted “gender equality and reproductive health,” meaning Uighur women were “no longer baby-making machines.”

The embassy also posted another tweet quoting a report released by state media outlet Xinhua.

The report published by the news agency mentioned that the population decrease in Xinjiang “involves the overall improvement in population quality,” adding that an increasing number of youths were choosing to “spend more time and energy on personal development.” 

Reports of forced abortions, IUDs, and sterilisations of Uighur women by Chinese authorities emerged last June. Commentators and rights groups have decried the report findings as genocide orchestrated by Beijing against Uighurs, reports Hong Kong Free Press.