Qamishlo, Girkê Legê residents reject restrictions on Kurdish language education

The People’s Initiative organized a march in Qamishlo attended by students, their families, teachers and residents to protest the Education Ministry’s decision under Syria’s transitional government regarding the Kurdish language. The march was held under the slogan, “Our language is our existence, and we demand the right to education in Kurdish.”

Hundreds of people took part in the march, which began at Martyrs’ Square in the center of the city and continued to the Qamishlo Directorate of Education and Teaching.

During the march, residents and students carried banners in Kurdish, Arabic and English expressing their demands and positions, including “The Kurdish language is our culture and existence,” “Long live our language,” and “The mother tongue is the national spirit.” Participants also chanted, “There is no life without language.”

In front of the directorate building, teacher Hanan Bakr read a statement in Kurdish, which said:

“According to the January 29, 2026 agreement, the process of integration continues. Based on the criteria of this integration, the Kurdish people have been recognized as an indigenous component and nation in Syria. All efforts and actions must continue to be based on the reality of the Kurds’ existence in Syria. 

However, many developments have recently emerged that exceed or violate this standard. The latest is the ongoing attempts to change the name of Kobani to ‘Ain al-Arab.’ At the same time, the transitional government is seeking to impose this policy across the Kurdish geography, change the names of areas, and gradually separate these areas from their Kurdish identity.

This position contradicts the January 29 agreement and constitutes an attack on the existence of Kurdish identity and language.

We, in turn, do not accept this position. We are Kurds, our language is Kurdish, and the names of our ancestral homeland are Kurdish as well. The transitional government must respect and legally recognize this reality.

As the people of Qamishlo, we say to officials: Respect us, and respect our language and history. Our demand is that no position denying the existence of the Kurds be accepted.

For the integration process to succeed, the transitional government must fulfill its responsibilities, while the Kurdish people as a whole must remain vigilant and attentive to this issue.

Our people will make no concessions on these issues and will not accept any attacks targeting their existence. We await each side fulfilling its responsibilities and protecting civil and social peace.”

Following the statement, students performed the song Şirîn û Xweş e Zimanê Kurdî, and the march concluded with participants chanting, “There is no life without language.”

In al-Mustafawea town, affiliated with Girkê Legê, students and residents of the town and surrounding villages also took to the streets, demanding that their right to education in their mother tongue be guaranteed. The event concluded with the reading of a statement rejecting the Education Ministry’s decision on the Kurdish language.

The statement was read in front of one of the schools by young woman Yasmin Ali.

The statement said that education in one’s mother tongue is a human right, noting that the Kurdish people were among those at the forefront of the Syrian revolution and made sacrifices throughout its course. It stressed that every people has the right to preserve its language, culture and identity.

It added that the Kurdish language is an essential part of the Kurdish people’s identity and that restricting it in schools contradicts students’ right to learn in their mother tongue. It emphasized that students have the right to receive their education and acquire knowledge and sciences in their mother tongue.

The statement called on Syria’s Education Ministry to withdraw and amend its decision and adopt Kurdish as the language of instruction for all subjects in schools in Kurdish areas, making Kurdish an official language in schools.

The statement concluded by reaffirming their commitment to Kurdish as the language of the people, their dignity and identity, stressing that preserving the language means preserving life and existence.

A-H 

ANHA

Qamişlo 

Girkê Legê