ISTANBUL - Stating that systematic pressures against the Kurdish continue, Zana Farqînî said: "If our language is our existence, let's keep it alive."

 

Linguist Zana Farqînî, who worked at the Istanbul Kurdish Institute, of which she is the founder, from 1997 to 2008, continues her studies on the Kurdish language. Farqînî, who has been working on Kurdish dictionaries since 2000, evaluated the pressures on Kurdish and emphasized the importance of developing the Kurdish language.

 

Saying that the Kurdish language has been subjected to intense pressure for many years, Farqînî said that there is a state that prevents the Kurds from using their mother tongue, and that Turkey's blocking extends to other countries as well. Farqînî, who has been prevented from studying all kinds of Kurdish, said: “Kurdish lessons are prohibited. You make a choice in schools, school administrators offer different excuses and say "the number was low". Classes are being closed due to this reason.”

 

PRESSURE ON KURDISH

 

Expressing that Kurds who protect their mother tongue are also subjected to pressure, Farqînî reminded that Kurdish institutions were closed down, especially after the July 15 coup attempt. Expressing that the pressures on Kurds have increased with the bans on Kurdish, Farqînî said: “When someone sees a Kurdish book on them, when someone listens to Kurdish songs or when someone tries to express himself in Kurdish when he goes to the hospital, they are insulted and sometimes die. If you are a Kurd, he is labeling you a 'terrorist' or trying to criminalize you."

 

'THE STATE IS AFRAID OF KURDISH'

 

“Why is the state trying to suppress and ban the Kurdish language?” asks Farqînî, “They know how important the Kurdish language is and that's why the state is afraid of the Kurdish language. That's why all they do is ban it."