Lawyer calls on Kurdish parties to act to enshrine Kurdish Language in  constitution

The Syrian transitional government has approved the teaching of the Kurdish language for three lessons per week in schools, with its grades included in students’ final overall averages. The move has prompted calls for this measure to be strengthened through constitutional and legal recognition guaranteeing the Kurds’ right to education in their mother tongue.

Three lessons are not enough to teach the mother tongue

Lawyer Bashira Jamal al-Din said that allocating three lessons to the Kurdish language does not diminish the value of the language, as it is the mother tongue of the Kurds, who have spoken it in their communities and homes since ancient times. “However, these lessons are not enough to meet students’ right to education in their own language,” she added.

Bashira pointed out that including Kurdish language grades in students’ final overall averages is a positive step, but not sufficient. She explained that schools and institutes in Rojava taught the Kurdish language for 14 years, during which many students graduated from the first grade through university in various fields of study.

Call for constitutional and legal recognition of the Kurdish Language

Bashira Jamal al-Din stressed that recognizing the Kurdish language through only three lessons is far from sufficient, calling for constitutional and legal recognition that guarantees the rights of the Kurdish language, so that these rights cannot be changed if governments in Syria change.

She stressed that the Kurdish people in Syria do not accept limiting their language to only three lessons, expressing concern over the future of the language and the Kurdish people, as it is their primary language.

Equality between Arabic and Kurdish

Bashira Jamal al-Din called for equality between Arabic and Kurdish, describing them as the languages of the two largest components in Syria. She called for Kurdish to be used as a language in institutions and courts, and for both languages to appear on signs and publications in government and civil institutions.

The lawyer also stressed the need for education in Kurdish to cover all subjects, from the first grade through university, noting that the right to education in one’s mother tongue must be guaranteed legally and in terms of rights.

Call to unite efforts to enshrine the Language

The lawyer called for the formation of legal and human rights committees and specialized bodies, with the participation of political parties and Kurdish language specialists, to work toward enshrining the Kurdish language in the Syrian Constitution and unifying efforts to guarantee its rights.

ANHA