Thousands participate in mass rally demanding education in Kurdish

Meanwhile, a mass gathering has begun in the city of Qamishlo, in the Jazira region, demanding the right to education in Kurdish and rejecting the restriction of Kurdish-language instruction to three classes per week, amid broad participation from residents, students, and various segments of society.

Participants gathered in front of the Martyrs of 12 March Stadium in Qamishlo as part of the event organised by the Popular Initiative under the slogan “Our language is our identity.”

Thousands of residents from various cities and towns across the Jazira region are taking part in the gathering, having come from Derik, Amuda, Derbasiyah, Çil Agha, Tal Tamr, Tirbespiye, Girkê Legê, Qamishlo, and Hasakah, carrying Kurdish symbols and flags.

Participants carried banners reading, “Our language is our identity,” “Our language is our future,” “The blood of the martyrs protected our language,” “Our language is our dignity,” and “There is no life without language.”

The event is being held to express the Kurdish people’s rejection of the decision issued by the Ministry of Education in the transitional government on August 27, which limited the teaching of the Kurdish language to only three classes per week, and to demand the expansion of Kurdish-language education to include teaching the curriculum in Kurdish and guaranteeing students’ right to education in their mother tongue. 

According to the organising committee, the event will include speeches delivered on behalf of students, Kurdish-language teachers, the Democratic Society Movement, Kongra Star, the Democratic Islamic Congress, and the Council of Martyrs’ Families.

The gathering comes amid continued reactions rejecting the decision issued on August 27, which bears No. 2068/964 and limits the teaching of the Kurdish language to a specified number of hours per week, as events and protests continue in the cities and towns of the Jazira region.

Since the decision was issued, the region has witnessed a series of demonstrations, sit-ins, and statements calling for the right to education in Kurdish. Participants have stressed that restricting Kurdish-language instruction to three classes per week does not meet their demands for education in their mother tongue.

Sh-S

ANHA