Organized by Kurdish Language Institutions and supported by the Democratic Institutions Platform, the two-day workshop titled “Strategies and Policies for the Kurdish Language Struggle” brought together eight working groups, including participants from literature, law, media, ecology, and diplomacy. 

 

The final declaration underlined the demand for legal recognition and public protection of the Kurdish language.

 

‘THE MOTHER TONGUE STRUGGLE IS A COLLECTIVE DUTY’

 

 

Zozan Gulan, a writer and member of the Kurdish Writers’ Association, said that the discussions during the workshop touched upon key issues: “Mothers play a crucial role in language transmission, but this does not mean the burden of preserving the language should fall solely on women’s shoulders. The struggle for the mother tongue is a collective social responsibility. We must take encouraging steps so that children can access Kurdish books and interact with words in their own language. The Kurdish language cannot be protected through individual efforts alone. Kurdish must become a language of education and gain official status, this is essential for its survival.”

 

‘CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTION IS NECESSARY’

 

 

Mehtap Işık, a member of the Kurdish Language Commission of the Wan Bar Association, said that the barriers to the public use of Kurdish are systematic, leaving the mother-tongue struggle deprived of legal foundations: “This is the criminalization of a language itself. Kurds are being punished simply for speaking their own language, it is the most blatant form of rights violation. The Kurdish people keep asking: How will Kurdish be legally protected? How will it be freely used in courts and schools? But within the current legal framework, there are no answers.”

 

Mehtap Işık noted that Kurdish politicians have been denied the right to defend themselves in their mother tongue for years: “Laws that refuse to recognize Kurdish do not merely deny a language; they target an entire people’s existence. Recognition of a people begins with the recognition of their language. Unless Kurdish is guaranteed as a language of education and judiciary, this inequality will persist.”

 

‘PUBLISHING HOUSES ARE THE CARRIERS OF KURDISH’

 

 

Remziye Alparslan, co-chair of the Istanbul Kurdish Studies Association, said that the repression of Kurdish also manifests itself in the cultural sphere: “Publishing houses work tirelessly to keep Kurdish alive, yet they face censorship and legal barriers. We are witnessing books in Kurdish being removed from fairs and prevented from reaching prisons. Even sending a Kurdish book to a detainee has become a problem. This is clearly a cultural embargo.”

 

She stressed that the struggle for Kurdish status is not only political but also cultural: “Publishing houses form the backbone of this struggle. Books, panels, and cultural activities are vital instruments for keeping the language alive. But as long as de facto bans and restrictions on Kurdish continue, this struggle will remain limited. The legal status of Kurdish must be officially recognized.”

 

MA / Zeynep Durgut