A Uyghur dentist near Aksu, East Turkestan (Xinjiang, China), 2012

Muslim women in East Turkestan are often educated and find themselves in high positions of employment. Although the Uyghurs are generally a lesser educated and poorer minority of China, because of politics/government, they take great care in good hygiene and oral care (by comparison to the countryside/poor Han). 

Once, during a conversation with a young lady of the Hui minority (the other Muslim minority) said, “Oh, we are not like Uyghurs, they are dirty people…they eat with their hands.” I could never understand this mentality, as I’ve eaten with my hands countless times, even at Uyghur weddings. Homes are extremely clean, by Chinese standards, and they wash their hands, feet, and brush their teeth daily.