Calls grow to recognize Kurdish Language in Syria’s Constitution

Popular and political demands calling for constitutional recognition of the Kurdish people and the adoption of the Kurdish language as an official language alongside Arabic in Syria continue to grow.

Several women from the city of al-Darbasiyah spoke to our agency on this issue, emphasizing that recognizing the Kurdish language represents a fundamental step to guarantee the national and cultural rights of Kurds and to strengthen principles of pluralism and partnership among the country’s components.

Citizenship Zarka Muhammad said that constitutional recognition of the Kurdish language is a legitimate right for the Kurdish people, like other components that live their lives in their mother tongue.

She added: “Recognizing the rights of the Kurdish people and their language in the Syrian constitution contributes to strengthening principles of equality and justice in the country,” affirming that recognition of Kurdish rights is a legitimate demand that must be supported, heard, and included in the new constitution.

Citizen Hemrin Jawi pointed out that the Kurdish language is an essential part of Kurdish cultural identity, and that failure to recognize it in the Syrian constitution means reproducing exclusionary policies against the Kurdish people.

She stressed the need to overcome the mentality of exclusion and discrimination and to begin building a state that recognizes the rights of all its components.

She added: “Safeguarding the linguistic rights of the Kurdish people in the Syrian constitution strengthens the values of pluralism in Syria and ends the exclusionary policies that the Kurdish people have historically suffered from, as the Kurdish language has not yet received any constitutional recognition.”

In her conclusion, Hemrin noted that the Kurdish people have struggled since the beginning of the revolution until today for their linguistic and cultural rights in Syria, affirming that “this new phase increases our determination to strengthen our demands and enshrine them in the constitution.”

Citizen Raja Muhammad also referred to Syria’s cultural richness, saying that each component has its own culture and language that cannot be denied. She added: “One of the most basic rights that must be recognized in the constitution is the Kurdish language, and not recognizing it is a denial of the existence of the Kurdish people, who have struggled for years to preserve their existence and language.”

She continued: “Our position today as a people is to struggle for our mother tongue, and we address the interim government today that the failure to recognize the Kurdish language is unacceptable. The Kurdish language is part of our culture, and we will not hesitate to protect it.”

Raja concluded by stressing that “a new Syria is not just empty slogans, but a new phase that requires all Syrians to work for it. A constitution must be drafted that preserves the rights of all components and serves as an umbrella for all Syrians.”

ANHA