(CNN) -- She's been compared to the Dalai Lama, the Chinese Tibetan Buddhist leader, but the name Rebiya Kadeer doesn't ring a bell to many people outside of China. Rebiya Kadeer has been dubbed "the Mother of All Uyghurs." Nevertheless, the world-famous man and the relatively obscure woman share similarities that chime with political relevance. A diminutive northern Virginia resident, Kadeer has emerged as the voice of the restive but relatively unknown Uyghur Muslims, a Turkic-speaking ethnic minority in China, and the group's far-flung diaspora. And like the Dalai Lama, she's revered by supporters and reviled by the Chinese government.
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Rebiya Kadeer emerges as leader of minority Uyghur Muslims in China
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Chinese government reviles Kadeer, blames her for stoking unrest
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Kadeer mirrors the non-violent sentiment espoused by the Dalai Lama
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This is a "very dark time for the Uyghur people," Kadeer says
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@placeholder's constitution guarantees ethnic minorities equal rights and limited autonomy.
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They include "permission to have more children (except in urban areas, minorities are generally not bound by the one-child policy)," paying fewer taxes,  getting "greater access to public office," and better education for children -- in @placeholder rather than native tongues.
Mother of All Uyghurs
Kadeer has spent much of the last few weeks plowing through media interviews and chatting about how she juggles being the "@placeholder" with being a mother to her flesh-and-blood children.