As schools open in Iran, voices of protest against the ban on Turkish language education have been rising in cities and on social media in Iranian Azerbaijan.
In recent days, cultural activists and supporters of the Tractor team have organized traditional Turkish book distribution campaigns in cities and regions such as Urmia, Ardabil, and Mugan.
According to images shared on Araz News and the Abbas Lisani Telegram channels, books were gifted to schoolchildren in neighborhoods and in front of schools in Ardabil and Urmia. The images show books like "Shirin Dilim," "Who Am I," and "Houses" being distributed to the children.
In some cities, slogans protesting the ban on Turkish language education were written on walls.
In footage from Tabriz, slogans like "Where is my mother tongue?", "The light is not out yet, my mother tongue is not dead," "Turkish language school," "If my language dies, I will die," and "Let's protect our Turkish language" can be seen written on the walls.
Many social media users have also been posting messages of protest against the ban on Turkish language education in the days leading up to the opening of schools.
Earlier this year, Turkish language rights activists and Tractor fans in Ardabil province had also distributed Turkish books and school supplies to children in regions affected by floods in previous months.
Link to the original text in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
İran Azərbaycanında məktəblərin açılması ilə birlikdə türk dilində təhsil tələbi səsləndirilir