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China detaining Uighurs for wearing veil, growing beard: Leaked document

Wearing a veil or growing a beard are among the reasons that China has been detaining Uighur Muslims from the western region of Xinjiang, according to a leaked document obtained by the BBC.
The document, which details the daily activities of more than 3,000 people in the autonomous territory, reveals the extent of China’s crackdown on Muslim minorities. This includes noting how often they pray, which mosques they visit, and how often they fast.
More than 1 million Uighurs, Kazakhs, and other minorities are estimated to have been forced into concentration camps, which China calls “vocational education centers,” by the government.

Hundreds of people are being held in the camps for wearing a veil, growing out their beard, and even unintentionally clicking on a foreign website on their electronic devices, the document showed.
It also tracks each individual’s social circle, listing everyone they spoke to and interacted with, and noting down their religious patterns.
If a person interacted with someone who was deemed “too religious,” applied for a passport, or had a relative overseas, they were labeled as suspicious, the document showed.
China has repeatedly denied accusations of its mass detention of the ethnic minority and issued several statements saying that the only criteria for the arrests have been whether those arrested have committed unlawful acts.
According to BBC, the document was leaked from inside Xinjiang through a network of people and was later made public by a Uighur woman living in asylum in Amsterdam.
An expert cross-referenced the names and information in the document with other public official records to verify its contents.
source: Tamara Abueish
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BENEFIT Sponsors BuildHer...
- April 23, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”
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