Kurdish students in Turkey face denial of language education

ISTANBUL,— A proposal by the Turkish government to end a long-standing conflict with Kurdish militants has renewed attention on Kurdish rights, which many leaders say have been increasingly repressed in recent years.

Kurdish activists claim that freedoms gained over a decade ago have slowly eroded, including the right to Kurdish language education in schools.

In 2012, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave students the right to learn Kurdish language in schools for up to two hours. Erdogan hailed this as a historic move in a country that had once outright banned the Kurdish language.

However, according to a Reuters report, many Kurdish families are finding it difficult to access these classes today, even in major cities. Several parents, Kurdish politicians, and education experts mentioned that even when such classes are available, not all Kurdish families are aware of their right to request them.

The Kurdish people make up more than 26.8% of Turkey’s 84-million population, with over 22.5 million identifying as Kurds. For many, Kurdish is their first language, and the right to receive education in their native language is a key demand.

However, Turkey’s constitution says that only Turkish can be taught as a first language to its citizens. Because of this, there are restrictions on teaching Kurdish in schools.

Gulistan Kilic Kocyigit, a member of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Party of the Peoples (DEM), argues that education in one’s mother tongue is crucial for cultural expression and social equality.

She said “learning in your native language is important for peace, fairness, and safeguarding cultural rights,”

A peace process between the Turkish government and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) began in 2012 but collapsed by 2015, leading to renewed violence and a crackdown on pro-Kurdish groups.

Since the peace process ended, Kurdish classes have nearly disappeared from schools,” said Remezan Alan, a Kurdish Language and Culture lecturer at Artuklu University in Mardin.

Alan’s own children were unable to access Kurdish classes in Diyarbakir, a predominantly Kurdish city in southeastern Turkey, despite enough requests from other parents. “There weren’t enough teachers,” Alan explained.

The Ministry of Education in Turkey has stated that Kurdish classes can be offered if at least 10 students request them. However, they have not commented on specific cases.

Education Minister Yusuf Tekin recently denied allegations that the state was blocking Kurdish education, attributing the shortage of classes to a 2012 boycott by a predecessor party of the DEM.

Parents argue that their children need to learn Kurdish not just for cultural reasons, but also for practical purposes, such as being able to read and write in their mother tongue.

Hudai Morarslan, a member of the Egitim-Bir-Sen teachers’ union, says that Kurdish language classes are available in only 13 cities, and he is campaigning for the right to learn Kurdish in smaller towns like Bingol.

However, he said there is a widespread fear among parents and students of being stigmatized by the state for requesting these courses, due to associations with the PKK, which is banned in Turkey.

The issue of Kurdish language rights is not just limited to education. In November 2023, authorities detained over 230 individuals and replaced six pro-Kurdish mayors on charges of PKK affiliations.

In some instances, people were detained simply for singing Kurdish songs at weddings, an act that authorities described as spreading “terrorist propaganda.”

The Turkish government’s policy toward the Kurdish language has been a contentious one. After the ban was lifted in 1991, there were efforts to ease restrictions, including the launch of a Kurdish TV channel by state broadcaster TRT.

However, many Kurds criticized the channel as government propaganda. More recently, efforts to promote Kurdish education were rolled back after the peace process ended.

Kurdish activists continue to advocate for greater recognition of their language and culture. The struggle for Kurdish language rights is deeply tied to broader demands for equal citizenship and the protection of Kurdish cultural identity in Turkey.

(Credit: Reuters)