Rushan Abbas is an Uyghur American activist and advocate from Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China, which is also known as East Turkistan. She is the founder and Executive Director of the nonprofit, Campaign for Uyghurs. In 1993, Rushan Abbas both co-founded and ran the Uyghur Overseas Student and Scholars Association as the first Vice-President. Moreover, she was elected as the Vice President of the Uyghur American Association for two terms. By 1998, Radio Free Asia had launched a Uyghur Service where Ms. Abbas became the first Uyghur reporter broadcasting on East Turkistan. Since 1990, Ms. Abbas has been a campaigner for the human rights of Uyghur people and worked with members of the U.S. Congress. In 2002, United States Department of Defense contractors hired Abbas as a translator for interrogators at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. She left the base nine months later, and returned in 2006 after she was contacted by defense attorneys who needed an interpreter for several Uyghur men. Ms. Abbas then established the Campaign for Uyghurs organization in September of 2017; a nonprofit which advocates for Uyghur human rights. Ms. Abbas organized the 'One Voice, One Step' march, which was done in protest of China’s persecution and imprisonment of 3 million Uyghurs. The march was global and took place in 14 countries and 18 cities.
Early life and fleeing from China
Rushan Abbas was born 14th of June, 1967 in Ürümqi. She attended the Experiential High School and graduated in 1984. She then continued her studies and attended Xinjiang University from 1984 until 1988 and majored in Biology. During her time at university, Abbas took part in pro-democracy rallies and demonstrations which were done to protest China’s oppressive policies in East Turkistan. In 1989 she moved to the United States and attended Washington State University where she pursued studies in Plant Pathology. During her time in the United States, the became a U.S. citizen and remained within Uyghur-American community, continuing her advocacy work which she has been actively doing since 1985. Since her move to the U.S., she has been a vocal activist and advocate for the human rights of Uyghurs.
Ms. Abbas introduced and led the “One Voice One Step” Uyghur Women’s movement; an organized demonstration which took place on March 15th, 2018, in 14 countries and 18 cities on the same day to protest China’s detention of millions of Uyghurs in concentration camps.
On September 05, 2018, Rushan Abbas participates on a panel discussion named “China's “War on Terrorism” and the Xinjiang Emergency”. Abbas talked about the fate of her in-laws and conditions of China’s camps. Six days later, Abbas’s sister and aunt both detained by the Chinese government as retaliation for her speech at Hudson Institute.
Advocacy Work After Sister Being Held Hostage
Ms. Abbas believes that her sister is being held as hostage as retaliation for her activism in the United States. She quit her regular job and became a full-time activist on the one year anniversary date of her sister’s abduction. Abbas has been advocating for Uyghur people’s rights traveling around the world, speaking publicly.
Ms. Abbas was invited to attend the U.S. President’s State of the Union Speech as Senator Marco Rubio’s guest on February 4th, 2020.
China's Accusation
Articles published by the Global Times, a daily tabloid newspaper under the auspices of the Chinese Communist Party's claims that Rushan Abbas is a member of an East Turkistan separatist group. With her supposed agenda of tainting the “CCP’s policy in the Xinjiang region,” Abbas was condemned for stealing photos and information of Uyghurs and falsely claiming them to be her missing family members. This is referring to her demands on the CCP releasing her sister Dr. Gulshan Abbas, who has been missing since the 11th of September, 2018.
