“Recognition of Kurdish language is right, identity, existence”

Activities and campaigns demanding the recognition of Kurdish as an official language alongside Arabic in Syria continue across Rojava through demonstrations, sit-ins, and messages addressed to the interim government. Participants emphasized the necessity of guaranteeing the constitutional, educational, and cultural rights of the Kurdish language and rejected any policies aimed at marginalizing or excluding it.

In this context, various members of society spoke to ANHA's agency. Citizen Aziza Abdullah stressed her commitment to her mother tongue, affirming that the Kurdish language represents the identity and existence of the Kurdish people.

She said “Because we are Kurds, we must speak our Kurdish language. Our struggle throughout the past years has been for our language and our rights. In the past, we were unable to speak our language freely, but today we refuse to return to that stage, and we remain committed to our Kurdish language because it is an essential part of our identity.”

Aziza wondered “Why are our rights as Kurds still denied and lost, despite the fact that we fought terrorism on behalf of everyone and liberated many areas that suffered from its crimes? Therefore, we demand recognition of our language and the release of all our prisoners.”

She concluded her remarks with a statement emphasizing the importance of language for the Kurdish people: “The absence of my language means the absence of my existence.”

For her part, student Hazal Dawood affirmed that recognition of the Kurdish language is a fundamental right of the Kurdish people. She said: “It is my right to speak my language, write in it, and discuss in it, and for it to be recognized as an official language. This is our language, our identity, and our existence. After any process of integration, we want to study in our own language and not in any other language.”

Hazal Dawood pointed out that recognizing the Kurdish language in Syria would also contribute to strengthening its status in other countries and would open the way for Kurds to use their language more broadly in educational, cultural, and social fields.

Meanwhile, Kurdish language teacher Nashmiya Darwish stressed the necessity of officially recognizing the Kurdish language. She called on the interim government to enshrine it in the constitution, introduce it in schools, and prepare dedicated curricula for it so that it becomes part of Syria’s educational system.

 She confirmed that the Kurdish language represents an essential part of the country’s cultural and linguistic diversity.

It should be noted that during a demonstration held in Hasakah province in support of the Kurdish language, thousands of residents submitted a list of demands to the governor of Hasakah, who in turn was expected to deliver it to interim government president Ahmad al-Sharaa. The document included demands related to constitutional recognition of the Kurdish language, its inclusion in school curricula, and its adoption as an official language alongside Arabic, in a manner that guarantees the cultural, educational, and political rights of the Kurdish people.