Kurds in Lebanon rejects restrictions on Kurdish Language education in Syria

The Kurdish community in Lebanon expressed concern over the decision issued by the Ministry of Education and Teaching of the transitional government, which limits Kurdish language instruction to three classes per week. The community said the decision undermines Kurdish students’ right to receive education in their mother tongue and violates a fundamental cultural and human right.

In a statement, the community stressed that the mother tongue is “a right, not a privilege,” emphasizing that education in one’s mother tongue is an inherent right that should not be subject to restrictions or political considerations. It said preserving the Kurdish language means preserving the identity, culture, history and collective memory of the Kurdish people.

It explained that the Kurdish people’s demand for the right to education in their mother tongue does not mean rejecting Arabic or any other language. Rather, it is part of their natural right to preserve their language and culture within a society that respects diversity, equality and the rights of all its components.

The Kurdish community in Lebanon stressed that protecting the Kurdish language is not the responsibility of the Kurdish people alone, but is part of protecting cultural and human diversity in the region. It said that a language carrying the memory, history and culture of a people “cannot be reduced to a limited number of classes.”

The community announced its firm rejection of the decision, affirming its support for Kurdish students, teachers and parents in Syria, its commitment to their full right to education in their mother tongue, and its rejection of all forms of discrimination or restrictions targeting this right.

It called on the relevant authorities to reconsider the decision and ensure full and official recognition of the Kurdish people’s right to education in their mother tongue, in line with the principles of human rights, equality and cultural diversity.

The community concluded its statement by stressing that “language is not a subject to be reduced to classes, but an identity, a right and the memory of a people.”

A-H 

ANHA