Muyesser Abdul'ehed is a

Uyghur Uyghur may refer to: * Uyghurs, a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia (West China) ** Uyghur language, a Turkic language spoken primarily by the Uyghurs *** Old Uyghur language, a different Turkic language spoken in the Uyghur K ...

poet and teacher, who has spoken out against civilian internment of Uyghur people by Chinese authorities. She teaches Uyghur language to children of the Uyghur diaspora.

Early life and education

Muyesser was born in

Ghulja YiningThe official spelling according to ( zh, s=伊宁), also known as Ghulja () or Kulja ( Kazakh: ), is a county-level city in northwestern Xinjiang, China. It is the administrative seat and largest city of Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture ...

, a city in the north of Uyghur Autonomous region of

Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...

in today's People's Republic China in the mid-1980s. She studied medicine at

Peking University Peking University (PKU) is a Public university, public Types of universities and colleges in China#By designated academic emphasis, university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of the Peop ...

, followed by an MA in Public Health, from a Malaysian university. During her undergraduate degree she began to write poetry and following her postgraduate degree decided to pursue a career in creative writing.

Career

In 2013, Muyesser moved to Turkey and established the organisatio
Ayhan Education
whose purpose is to foster the

Uyghur language Uyghur or Uighur (; , , or , , ), formerly known as Turki or Eastern Turki, is a Turkic languages, Turkic language with 8 to 13 million speakers (), spoken primarily by the Uyghur people in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of Western ...

in diaspora communities. Their work includes publishing a Uyghur language magazine written by children, aimed at their peers. The magazine is called ''Four Leaf Clover.'' Prior to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Hendan taught in-person language lessons, but since then has moved to digital tuition and reached more students as a result. Muyesser's writing focuses on the experience of Uyghur people forced to live in internment camps. Her novel ''Kheyr-khosh, quyash'' (''Farewell to the Sun'') is the first novel to describe Uyghur internment camps. Some of her work focuses on women's experiences, including a poem from the perspective of a wife whose husband is interned.

Personal life

As of 2020, Hendan lived in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. She has spoken out about how her father expected the family to be imprisoned due to

civil unrest Civil disorder, also known as civil disturbance, civil unrest, civil strife, or turmoil, are situations when law enforcement and security forces struggle to maintain public order or tranquility. Causes Any number of things may cause civil di ...

. She lost contact with her family in 2017 and she has spoken about her feelings of

survivor guilt Survivor guilt or survivor's guilt (also survivor syndrome, survivor's syndrome, survivor disorder and survivor's disorder) happens when individuals feel guilty after they survive a tragic, near death, or traumatic event when others perished. It ...

. Her family were forced to cease contact with her due to pressure from the authoritarian state in China, where even being in contact with a relative abroad is a reason for arrest. She believes her cousin, Erpat Ablekrem - a professional football player, was interned as a result of contact with her.

Awards

She was on the list of the BBC's 100 Women announced on 23 November 2020.

Selected publications

* ''Kheyr-khosh, quyash'' (2020) *''Missing you is painful'' (2012)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdul'ehed, Muyesser Living people 1980s births Year of birth uncertain Chinese people of Uyghur descent Turkish people of Uyghur descent Uyghur activists Uyghur poets Chinese women poets Uyghur diaspora Writers from Istanbul Peking University alumni