What you sow, so shall you reap. This saying aptly de­scribes the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) in light of recent evidence-backed claims by three women, ex­posing the dark reality that the WUC leadership has subjected women to sexual abuse and harassment with impunity.

For years, the WUC has levelled accusations against China for depriving Uyghur women of their rights, in­cluding claims of forced sterilisation. Ironically, the WUC, which has been trying to tarnish China’s moral standing, has now fallen into disgrace after facing mul­tiple allegations of sexual harassment against women within its own ranks. A student activist who accused a prominent Uyghur leader of sending inappropriate messag­es said she has spent weeks battling defamatory attacks from his supporters, which escalated after he retracted a public apology.

Two other Turkish women shared their experiences of sexu­al abuse at the hands of the powerful WUC leadership in inter­views with Radio Free Asia (RFA), though they chose to remain anonymous to avoid expected backlash. A recent interview with RFA’s Uyghur language service, in which the accused WUC lead­er dismissed the harassment allegations as part of a Chinese conspiracy, has since been removed.

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