Twitter removes Chinese embassy's 'baby-making machine' post about Uyghur women

Microblogging website Twitter has taken down a post from the Chinese embassy in the United States that said Uyghur women have been "emancipated" and are no longer "baby-making machines". The Chinese embassy’s post drew criticism from tens of thousands of users after which the social media network removed the tweet saying it had violated its policies. 

A Twitter spokesperson said that after further review, the company took action on the tweet for violating the rules and added that Twitter “prohibits dehumanisation” of a group of people based on their religion, race, or ethnicity, among other categories. 

On January 7, the Chinese embassy in Washington shared a report by China Daily and wrote, "Studies show that in the process of eradicating extremism, the minds of Uyghur women in Xinjiang were emancipated and gender equality and reproductive health were promoted, making them no longer baby-making machines. They are more confident and independent."

The study and the tweet had attributed the decrease in population growth to family planning programs and increased education, which religious extremism “incited people to resist”. The article also cited the study conducted by the state-run Xinjiang Development Research Centre.

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China’s crackdown on Uyghurs 

Meanwhile, experts believe that the Uyghurs women in Xinjiang are forced to undergo sterilisation. China's Xinjiang is home to around 10 million Uyghurs. The Turkic Muslims, which consist of 45% of Xinjiang's population, have long accused China's authorities of cultural, religious, and economic discrimination.

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According to reports, about 7% of the Muslim population in Xinjiang has been imprisoned in an expanding network of "political re-education" (detention) camps. Classified documents known as the China Cables revealed how the state government uses technology to control Uyghur Muslims worldwide.

However, China has repeatedly denied these reports stating that the camps in Xinjiang provide vocational training. People in the camps have described being subjected to forced political indoctrination, torture, beatings, and denial of food and medicine, and say they have been prohibited from practicing their religion or speaking their language. As Beijing denies these accounts, it also refuses to allow independent inspections into these regions, which further fuels reports related to China's atrocities on the minority Muslims. 

(With ANI inputs; Image: AP)

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