(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.



"Even though one is a man, and the other is a woman, they have one thing in common, and that is they engage in activities to split the motherland and damage national unity," said Qin Gang, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry.



Kadeer, 62, emerged in the world media spotlight after China blamed her for stoking July's unrest in China's remote Xinjiang Autonomous Region, an area four times the size of California in the northwestern part of the country.



Reports vary on the number of people killed, ranging from around 200 to many more.



The problems began in late June, after two Uyghur migrant workers at a toy factory in Guangdong province were killed after a brawl between Uyghurs and ethnic Han Chinese -- the majority group in China.



Uyghurs protested in Urumqi, the Xinjiang capital, hundreds of miles from the toy factory. Uyghurs and Han reportedly attacked each other.



Nur Bekri, the Chinese government's top official in Xinjiang, accused Kadeer and the World Uyghur Congress she leads of instigating the unrest via the Internet.



"The violence is premeditated, organized violent crime," Bekri said. "It was instigated and directed from abroad and carried out by outlaws in the country."



China's constitution guarantees ethnic minorities equal rights and limited autonomy. And the Chinese government has implemented several programs designed to help ethnic minorities, but Kadeer says China still treats Uyghurs as second-class citizens -- and she blames China for most of the recent unrest.



Since the violence erupted, Kadeer has worked the media with a mission, drumming up support for the Uyghur cause and shining a light on what she says are China's "unjust policies" toward her people.



The estimated size of Uyghur population in China ranges from 8 million to 11 million people, making them a distinct minority in a country of 1.5 billion people. Uyghurs have long complained of being treated as a lesser class, but China has dismissed that charge and touted its commitment to ethnic unity.



"Let them hear our voice and raise public awareness about our situation," Kadeer told CNN. "That's the main thing that I wish to do right now."



Dubbed "the Mother of All Uyghurs," Kadeer doesn't quite fit the profile of a political firebrand.



Born in modest circumstances, Kadeer fell into dire poverty amid the late Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong's forced relocation programs.



She worked her way up from laundry worker to become a millionaire businesswoman as China opened to free enterprise. She amassed an empire with department stores, real estate, lumber, scrap iron, factories and other enterprises.



She was also chosen as a member of a Chinese National Congress and other posts. However, the mother of 11 children -- some of whom are in jail in China -- wasn't shy about speaking out about the conditions faced by Uyghurs, such as political imprisonment.



Her activism landed her in jail in 1999, an incarceration that attracted international attention and condemnation from rights groups and Western political officials. China released her on medical grounds in 2005 amid pressure from the U.S. government.



She was granted political asylum in the United States, reunited with her husband, and embarked on activist work.



Along with her role as president of the World Uyghur Congress, Kadeer is the president of the board of the Uyghur American Association and the full-time director of the International Uyghur Human Rights and Democracy Foundation.
Who emerges as a leader of minority Uyghur Muslims in China? Who emerges as leader? Which government reviles Kadeer? What does the Chinese government blame Kadeer of doing?
Rebiya Kadeer Rebiya Kadeer Chinese stoking July's unrest in
question: Who emerges as a leader of minority Uyghur Muslims in China?, answer: Rebiya Kadeer | question: Who emerges as leader?, answer: Rebiya Kadeer | question: Which government reviles Kadeer?, answer: Chinese | question: What does the Chinese government blame Kadeer of doing?, answer: stoking July's unrest in