The Save Uyghur Organisation, a human rights group, has initiated a boycott campaign against the Chinese online fast-fashion retailer Shein, for the company’s involvement in the forced labor of Uyghur Muslims in China.
As Muslims around the world celebrate Eid ul-Fitr, the group has specifically called on Muslim women to refrain from purchasing from Shein, which is known for its affordable offerings of religious garments like jilbabs (a full-length, loose-fitting garment covering the head to toe).
Arslan Hidayat, the head of the Save Uyghur campaign, emphasized the importance for Muslims to use their consumer power to protest the use of forced labor and to demonstrate solidarity with the Uyghur community.
“It is crucial for Muslims to use their consumer power to protest against the use of forced labour and to demonstrate solidarity with the Uyghur community,” Hidayat told the Voice of America.
The campaign is being driven by the Chicago-based human rights organization ‘Justice for All,’ which advocates for stopping “China’s genocide of the Uyghurs and other Turkic people of East Turkistan.”
The Save Uyghur Organisation argues that Shein’s use of forced labor exacerbates the oppression of the Uyghur people. The group has urged the Muslim community to prioritize ethical consumption practices and advocate for justice for the Uyghur population.
The list of atrocities being inflicted on Uyghurs is terrifying. While indoctrination and forced labour in internment camps under garb of “re-education and vocational training” is used to alter their political outlook, forcing Uyghurs to consume alcohol and pork as well as discouraging fasting during Ramadan is used to destroy their religious beliefs. In addition, mass sterilization and intrauterine contraceptive device implantation programs are employed to systematically reduce the Uyghur population to an insignificant minority.