Abdul Sattar Doshouki, Balochistan Studies Centre – London, February 2017
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| Abdolsattar Doshouki |
February 21 is an international occasion to celebrate International Mother Language Day, as designated by the United Nations. Unfortunately, this significant day receives little attention in Iran. Persian-speaking compatriots, having never been deprived of their natural and legal right to use their mother tongue, see no reason to appreciate it through celebration. Meanwhile, other ethnic groups in Iran are not allowed to express their grievances about the bitter fate of their mother tongues in a "monolingual" country like Iran, nor can they demand their rights.
In his message for International Mother Language Day, the Director-General of UNESCO emphasized that this year's theme is multilingual education, an opportunity to unite and mobilize efforts toward achieving sustainable development goals, particularly the fourth goal, which ensures inclusive and quality education for all and promotes lifelong learning. Education and access to information in one's mother tongue are essential for improving learning outcomes and boosting confidence and self-esteem—some of the most powerful drivers of development. These languages carry values and global perspectives that enrich humanity. Recognizing and valuing these languages opens up future possibilities and strengthens the energy required to achieve them. He calls for multilingual education to be recognized everywhere, including in educational systems, management, cultural works, media, cyberspace, and commerce.
According to data published by the Ethnologue website, there are approximately 6,909 living languages and dialects worldwide, though the vast majority are used by a small portion of the global population. For instance, Papua New Guinea, with a population of four million, boasts over 830 languages, and the small nation of Vanuatu, with just 200,000 people, has 114 languages and dialects. The Bible has been translated into over 2,287 languages. Yet, 94% of the world’s population communicates using only 389 languages. Persian ranks 34th among living languages globally and is the mother tongue for about half of Iran's population, according to Ethnologue. Azerbaijani Turkish ranks 49th, Kurdish 56th, and Balochi 97th.
From a linguistic perspective, over two-thirds of the world’s countries have populations smaller than that of Balochistan. Yet, in Iranian Balochistan, teaching and publishing in the Balochi language are forbidden, unlike in Pakistani Balochistan. Afghanistan’s constitution even recognizes Balochi as an official language. Many ethnic groups and "nations" worldwide suffer deliberate and oppressive deprivation of their right to education in their mother tongue due to linguistic and cultural discrimination.
Regrettably, in Iran, the rightful demand to read, write, learn, and speak in one’s mother tongue is dismissed as a "hostile agenda aiming to exploit ethnic fault lines and divide Iran." This issue is treated as a security threat and suppressed with a repressive approach, despite Iran being a multilingual country, like India, Switzerland, Spain, Belgium, the UK, and Canada. Article 15 of Iran’s Constitution states that Persian is the official and common language of the Iranian people. Official documents, correspondence, textbooks, and other official texts must use Persian. However, using local and ethnic languages in the press, mass media, and teaching literature in schools alongside Persian is allowed. Despite this constitutional right, nearly half of Iran’s population is denied the natural right to education in their mother tongue.
Six years ago, I wrote on this same occasion that, unfortunately, a culture of discrimination and belittlement of others is institutionalized in Iran, particularly among central regions. Influenced by propaganda such as "Art belongs solely to Iranians" and "Persian is sugar," many are incapable of understanding the simple truth that every person’s mother tongue is "sugar" to them—and this sweetness is not exclusive to Persian. Baloch people also refer to their mother tongue as "honey" in Balochi: "Balochi mei watti shahden zabanant."
The living and thriving languages of Iranian ethnic groups, such as Balochi, Turkish, Kurdish, Arabic, Turkmen, Taleshi, Gilaki, and others, have continued their existence alongside Persian despite cultural discrimination and suppression. In a civilized, democratic, and modern system, these languages must be recognized, as they are in neighboring countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
Two years ago, on the same occasion, in an article titled "Preserve Persian, Keep the Rest as Spare," I mentioned that Dr. Hassan Rouhani, in point 4 of his third statement on the rights of ethnicities, religions, and denominations, issued on May 30, 2013, promised official teaching of Iranian mother tongues in schools and universities and full implementation of Article 15 of the Constitution. In point 5 of the same statement, he promised to strengthen the cultures and literatures of Iranian ethnic groups and prevent their decline. In point 8, he pledged to change the security-oriented view of ethnicities and their cultures. However, in practice, these promises proved hollow. Rouhani either failed or refused to alter the security-oriented approach toward the mother tongue issue, exploiting nationalist sentiments to stir public emotions. While all Iranians accept Persian as a common language, many countries, like Switzerland, India, Belgium, and Canada, do not even have a single official language for “unity” or national identity.
According to UNESCO, the most prominent cultural marker and collective identity of any ethnic group or nation is its language. The significance of education in one’s mother tongue is not only a natural human right but also the most fundamental medium for communication and interaction with one’s environment. The advancement of individuals and societies is directly linked to their ability to acquire knowledge and education from cradle to grave. Unfortunately, children from Baloch and other ethnic groups begin their education with linguistic inequality compared to Persian-speaking children. Before learning to read and write, they must first acquire a new "mother tongue"—Persian.
Worse still, these children face severe challenges due to a lack of educational facilities, proper schools, teachers, and financial resources. This dual disparity and layered discrimination result in unequal competition and compound injustice, fostering dissatisfaction and deepening societal fractures. While most Persian-speaking children from cities like Tehran, Mashhad, Kerman, Shiraz, Isfahan, and Yazd begin their education in their mother tongue with relative ease, children in Balochistan and ethnic regions face the additional challenge of learning a new language. Educational experts argue that compulsory education in a language other than one’s mother tongue is a significant factor in academic underachievement and dropout rates at the very start of schooling.
This is especially true in Balochistan, where children in impoverished, makeshift schools, deprived of basic facilities and often suffering from malnutrition, must compete in entrance exams with Persian-speaking students from well-equipped schools in major cities. Any protest against these blatant, deliberate, and oppressive discriminations is met with brutal suppression under the accusation of separatism.
The link to the original article in Farsi on Alarabiya:
چرا در ایران روز جهانی زبان مادری جشن گرفته نمی شود؟