The local government’s move in early October to organize Uyghur women in Aksu, requiring them to shed their traditional dress, don Han Chinese attire, and perform Han dances, is not a cultural exchange—it is a clear act of forced assimilation.
This episode is a visceral demonstration of the state’s broader campaign of cultural genocide. By compelling Uyghur women—historically the custodians of cultural identity—to publicly embrace the dominant Han culture, the government achieves two goals:
- Symbolic Subjugation: It uses highly visible public events to normalize and celebrate subservience to the Han-centric state. The requirement to perform specific loyalty dances undercuts the possibility of genuine Uyghur cultural expression.
- Breaking the Lineage: By targeting women, the state attempts to sever the primary link through which language, faith, and customs are passed to the next generation, thereby eroding Uyghur identity at its root.
The official pretense of “ethnic unity” masks a coercive strategy where Uyghurness is only tolerated when it is sanitized and performed according to Party mandate. This act of forcing women to be spectacle highlights the humiliation and psychological control inherent in Beijing’s policies, making the body of the Uyghur woman a key battleground in the struggle for cultural survival.
