Incarceration of women
Within the last decade, the rate of incarceration for women in China has increased by 46%. Women make up only 6% of the total population of individuals in prison within the country. While it is difficult to correctly evaluate the statistic regarding the total number of women incarcerated due to the underreporting of these cases, China is on track to imprison more women than the United States.
Mihrigul Tursun
November 28, 2018, Mihrigul Tursun, speaking through a translator, testified before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China about her harrowing experience over a series of three internments. She said that: There were around 60 people kept in a 430 square feet cell so at nights, 10 to 15 women would stand up while the rest of us would sleep on sideways so we could fit, and then we would rotate every 2 hours. There were people who had not taken a shower over a year.
Responding to a CNN report, China's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying vehemently rejected Mihrigul's allegations and gave a detailed account of the events. According to Hua, Mihrigul was taken into custody by Qiemo County police for 20 days from April 21 to May 20, 2017 on suspicion of inciting ethnic hatred and discrimination, but she was never jailed or put in vocational education and training center. Apart from those 20 days, she was totally free during her stay in China and traveled abroad extensively.