URUMQI: There was a time in the southern part of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region when many rural women lived out of public view, economically dependent on their spouses and bound by traditional household gender roles.
Today in Xinjiang’s Kashgar prefecture, Aysham Abdureyimu’s beauty salon buzzes with laughter and transformation. It has become a place where women come not just for stylish hairdos, but for a sense of community. In Kashgar’s Shache county, the steady hum of sewing machines fills Adilmu Abdulla’s bustling tailor shop, where she now employs dozens of local women, most of them Uygur. “When I got divorced, it felt like my whole world fell apart,” Abdulla recalled. “But these days, I have a steady monthly income and help others earn too. Being a single mom doesn’t faze me anymore.”
This profound transformation from social constraints to financial independence lies at the heart of Xinjiang’s efforts to empower rural women. While women were once confined to seclusion by extremist ideologies, today they stroll the streets proudly clad in modern fashion.
Speaking about this change, Abdureyimu said rural women now care more about looking their best. They’re eager to learn new skills, start their own businesses, and achieve financial independence. Dressed in the latest styles and fluent in Mandarin, her salon apprentices have become living symbols of this very transformation. The shift extends from household kitchens to socio-economic structures. According to Aynur Mamat, chairperson of Kashgar’s women’s federation, empowered mothers build more prosperous families, marked by fuller wallets, brighter smiles, happier homes and, above all, unshakable confidence.
Behind the change is a coordinated, multi-pronged effort led by the Xinjiang regional women’s federation and aimed at dismantling long-standing barriers to women’s empowerment.
Skills training forms the foundation. According to Li Linghui, Party chief of the Xinjiang regional women’s federation, the federation now organizes more than 1,000 sessions annually, equipping over 40,000 rural women with skills such as hairdressing and tailoring. These skills have opened doors to entrepreneurship and factory employment.
“Women across rural Xinjiang, especially the south, are eager to work and start businesses,” Li said. “We’re helping make it happen through practical training programs.” –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
