Tricycle | Awake in the World

At the U.N.'s Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing this past September and the parallel Non Governmental Organizations (NGO) Forum in the suburb of Huairou several issues had delegates and Chinese officials toe to toe. Not the least of these was the issue of Tibetan sovereignty.

On September 1, as the rain fell over dozens of supporters, nine Tibetan women held a silent protest. With scarves tied over their mouths, they stood holding hands for about fifteen minutes. The women were the only nine Tibetans in exile to be granted visas to attend the conference. China sponsored a separate group of women from the region which it has occupied since the 1950 invasion. The protest coincided with the thirtieth anniversary of formal Chinese rule in the Himalayan region. Leaders of the Chinese backed group denied the exiles’ claims of repression in Tibet, despite the fact that these have been documented by independent observers.