Justice For All’s Save Uyghur Campaign Condemns China’s Forced Assimilation of Uyghur Children on International Mother Language Day

Washington, D.C. — February 21, 2025

For Immediate Release

Contact: Hena Zuberi

hena@justiceforall.org

(202) 922-5878

Justice For All’s Save Uyghur Campaign Condemns China’s Forced Assimilation of Uyghur Children on International Mother Language Day

On International Mother Language Day, Justice For All’s Save Uyghur Campaign is raising urgent alarms over China’s systemic erasure of Uyghur language and culture through its forced assimilation policies in Chinese-occupied East Turkistan. Justice For All’s Save Uyghur condemns the expansion of state-run boarding schools designed to strip Uyghur and other Turkic Muslim children of their identity by severing their connection to their families, religion, and mother tongue.

These children are placed in state-run institutions where the curriculum and environment compel them to abandon their religious beliefs and cultural identity in favor of adopting Han-Chinese cultural norms. The discriminatory nature of China’s policy, which compels Uyghur children to renounce their heritage and adopt Han Chinese culture. In these heavily controlled boarding schools, the use of Uyghur is either severely restricted or entirely forbidden, leaving young children vulnerable to permanent linguistic and cultural detachment.

Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid, President of Justice For All, stated: “The forced assimilation of Uyghur children is a direct attack on their cultural and linguistic heritage. On this International Mother Language Day, we stand with Uyghur families and urge the global community to demand that China ends its oppressive policies immediately. The survival of a culture and the rights of its people are at stake.”

The devastating impact of these policies on Uyghur families, as many children are forcibly placed in state-run institutions while their parents are either detained, exiled, or otherwise unable to raise them. Labeled as “orphans” by state authorities, these children are subjected to a Mandarin-only education, designed to sever them from their cultural and religious roots.

Arslan Hidayat, Team Lead of the Save Uyghur Campaign, stated: “China’s policies in East Turkistan are systematically designed to disconnect Uyghur children from their roots. By restricting the use of the Uyghur language and forcing cultural assimilation, the Chinese authorities aim to raise a generation devoid of their heritage. This is not just a violation of human rights; this is an attempt to erase the Uyghur identity from existence. This is cultural genocide, and our global response must be swift and decisive.”

Today, the Save Uyghur Campaign calls on the global community to recognize China’s actions for what they are: a systematic attempt to erase Uyghur linguistic and cultural heritage. We urge world leaders, human rights organizations, and civil society to take action in defense of Uyghur children’s fundamental right to their language, faith, and identity.