Zainura Isa, an Uyghur poet and a great daughter of the Uyghur nation passed away due to an illness in Istanbul on January 8, 2022.
Ms. Isa was born in Kashgar in 1944. She spent her childhood in Aksu and in Turpan. After graduating from high school, she entered the ‘Xinjiang’ University of Language and Literature in 1960. In 1965, she graduated from the University with honors. After graduating, she became a lecturer at the same university.
Ms. Isa was not only a gifted teacher but also a fiery poet and a scholar whose heart was burning for the cause of her motherland and her people.
Ms. Isa emigrated to Turkey in 1985 due to the Chinese colonial policies and unbearable oppression of the Uyghur people. Her poetry collections such as “Love” and “Snow Tulip” were loved by Turkish readers.
Ms. Isa was recognized as the world’s first describer of Chinese oppression at a 1999 art exhibition in Germany. Many of her poems have been translated into German. She even taught Uyghur at the famous Goethe Institute in Germany from 2001 to 2002.
Ms. Isa published and translated her novel “Mahmud Kashgari” from Uyghur into Turkish in 2006 and “Yusuf Khas Hajib” in 2010.
Ms. Isa was a self-sacrificing and dedicated woman. Without hesitation, she dedicated her whole existence to her motherland and her people. Our people will never forget this faithful and self-sacrificing daughter.
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