November 16, 2023
For a long time, Azerbaijani parents in the Islamic Republic of Iran have faced restrictions and prohibitions from the relevant authorities when choosing Turkish names for their children. Officials claim that no law prevents families from selecting Turkish names for their children. However, they create extensive paperwork when issuing birth certificates in Turkish and delay the process for several days until the parents are humiliated and choose an approved name. Meanwhile, civil registry officials maintain a list of Persian-Islamic names approved by the Islamic Republic. If the selected name for a Turkish child is not on that list, the family will not have the right to choose their preferred name.
Creating obstacles and prohibitions when choosing a name can have serious consequences for families. Sometimes, families must wait for months or even years in court to obtain a birth certificate with their chosen name. During this time, the child, without a birth certificate, is also deprived of all services.
The ban on choosing Turkish names for Azerbaijani parents is imposed in two ways. First, the chosen names must be approved by the authorities, but they are often rejected. Second, in rare cases where legal proceedings confirm certain names, the written letters are not accepted in their original form. In other words, the chosen Turkish names are not recorded in their original pronunciation and spelling but are given permission to issue a birth certificate with a Persian pronunciation. Among the most common of these Turkish names, which are written with Persian pronunciation, are the girls' names "Se'vil" (سِئویل) and "Se'vda" (سِئودا), which are allowed to be registered on the birth certificate as "Sevil" (سِویل) and "Sevda" (سِودا) because the hamza in Turkish is written in the Turkish script, producing the sound of "e."
The ban on choosing Turkish names for children continues the widespread discrimination against non-Persian nationalities, including Turks, since the establishment of the modern nation-state in Iran. If national bias is applied to a population in the context of national life, without a doubt, all areas of life for the ethnic group in question— including the economic, political, social, cultural, and environmental spheres—will be discriminated against, and the ruling group will attempt to oppress the oppressed group by keeping them away from independence in these areas. This discrimination can take the form of banning the choice of a name in the mother tongue for oppressed national groups, forced migration from their homeland to the central regions, or any other harm simply because of their nationality.
The signatories of this petition seek to remove official and legal obstacles preventing the registration of Turkish names for children. Turkish families should be able to freely choose any name they wish for their children.
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