Rahile Dawut

Rahile received the Courage to Think award for the year 2020 by Scholars at Risk. Rahile's daughter Akida Pulat received the award on her mother's behalf.

In December 2017, Professor Rahile reportedly told a relative of her plans to travel from Ürümqi to Beijing. Since that time, however, her family and friends have lost contact with her. Professor Dawut’s family and friends announced her disappearance in August 2018. By 2018, it was known that she was in the hands of Chinese state authorities. State authorities have not publicly disclosed Professor Rahile’s whereabouts or details of her well-being, access to legal counsel, or any charges against her. Professor Rahile’s family, along with human rights groups, suspects that she is among a growing number of Uyghurs who have been reportedly taken into custody by authorities and are being held at so-called “re-education camps,” in prisons, or at other detention facilities.

Rahile Dawut (Chinese: 热依拉·达吾提; pinyin: Rèyīlā Dáwútí; Uyghur: راھىلە داۋۇت; b. 1966) was a professor at Xinjiang University in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is internationally recognized as an expert in Uyghur folklore and traditions. She has received awards and grants from China’s Ministry of Culture, and is the founder of a folklore institute. She is suspected of being held by state authorities at an undisclosed location. She was disappeared by the Chinese government in 2017 and has not been seen since.