Career
She is considered by TIME magazine to be part of a "rapidly growing group of activists fighting for their families and communities."
Tohti comes from the Uchturpan county in Aksu. She was working as a fruit seller in Dalian. She was denied redress and appealed to authorities.
She appealed to the United Nations, and was arrested on June 4, 2012 and held for eight months.
As an activist who is working for justice in her son"s case, she has been jailed three times. Tohti believes that as a minority in China, she is being discriminated against and has appealed her case to Beijing in June 2015.