Jewher Ilham

Jewher Ilham is an author, a rights activist, and the daughter of Uyghur scholar, Ilham Tohti, an internationally noted moderate voice dedicated to bridging the gap between the Uyghur people and the Han Chinese. In 2014, Ilham Tohti was given an unprecedented sentence of life in prison on charges of "separatism," a manufactured allegation understood by the international community as retribution for his writings promoting peace between the two groups.

As an advocate for her imprisoned father, and in response to China's systematic repression of Uyghurs, Jewher has testified before the U.S. Congressional-Executive Committee on China and the UN General Assembly, lobbied government officials in the European Union, and met with multiple U.S. politicians including President of the United States and three Secretaries of State. 

In addition to writing in the New York Times, Teen Vogue, The Economist, CNN, and The Guardian, she has published two memoirs: Jewher Ilham: A Uygur's Fight to Free Her Father, and Because I Have To: The Path to Survival, The Uyghur Struggle. She currently works at the Worker Rights Consortium as Project to Combat Forced Labor Coordinator, and is a co-producer and key protagonist of the award-winning documentary film All Static Noise about the Uyghurs.