The Mother Tongue: The struggle for Kurdish education in Rojhelat

According to the 1979 Iranian constitution, minorities in the country have the legal claim to be taught their own language in schools. However, over 40 years since the drafting of the constitution, this right is yet to be implemented fully in many areas and Kurds of the country, as well as other minorities, still struggle with the inaccessibility to an education in their own language.

A new Rudaw documentary titled Mother Language from director Sarkew Msgari depicts the lack of Kurdish education in the cities and villages of western Iran (Rojhelat), and the impact of that exclusion on young and eager Kurdish students and their families.

“They have three Persian language lessons a day… It would be much better to have one Kurdish lesson instead of one of those Persian lessons,” said Luqman Yousifi from Bokan’s Salamat village, lamenting his son Diyar’s inability to study his own language.

Frustrated by the situation, many Kurdish parents have sought to hire private teachers and tutors to teach their children in the Kurdish language, believing that teaching their children their mother language is worth the financial complications that some families might be subjected to.

“Last year they had a teacher who said we cannot teach the Kurdish language because we are not allowed by the education ministry… He is right. They do not dare. We have to find another way and find a Kurdish private teacher for our children here in the villages, and there are many people who are eager to have a Kurdish language class,” said Qadir Yousifi, a farmer from Salamat, adding that they would pay all the expenses needed for their children to be taught Kurdish.

In addition to children, many adults also yearn to be able to read and write in their mother tongue, deciding to pursue an education in the later stages of their lives by any means necessary.

“In our area there were schools, but there were no girls in them. They [families] did not allow girls to study back then, only their sons. I really like to be able to read and write. I would give all my fortune to learn,” said Sabri Qadri, who, due to her passion for learning, started going to school after getting married and giving birth to three children.

Article 15 of the 1979 constitution of Iran states “the official language and script of Iran, the lingua franca of its people, is Persian. Official documents, correspondence, and texts, as well as text-books, must be in this language and script. However, the use of regional and tribal languages in the press and mass media, as well as for teaching of their literature in schools, is allowed in addition to Persian.”

Kurdish teachers and activists have for years fought to implement this right in the areas that do not necessarily comply by it, to no avail.

“Neglecting Article 15 of the constitution is neglecting the history and civilization of Iranian ethnic groups and the people of Iran,” said Aziz Nimati, a language instructor.

“The main reason is that they do not provide the rights to the ethnic groups and minorities in Iran, especially Turks, Kurds, Gilakis, and many others. There are many minorities in Iran. It is not only the Kurds that they [Iranian authorities] want to stop from learning their mother tongue,” said Suhaila Mohammadi, a Kurdish language instructor.