Abdul Sattar Doshouki, Center for Balochistan Studies — London - February 21, 2022
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| Abdul Sattar Doshouki |
February 21, 2022 marks International Mother Language Day. Today, I watched portions of the UNESCO conference live on the importance of mother languages. United Nations officials and experts from various countries spoke on this year’s theme, which focused on the challenges and opportunities of employing modern technology in multilingual education.
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.
By Dr. Abdul Sattar Doshouki - February 21, 2015
Today, February 21, is International Mother Language Day, designated by the United Nations. There are numerous international treaties and charters to which the Iranian government is committed, obliging it to fully support and safeguard the linguistic and cultural heritage within the country. Article 15 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran explicitly states that the use of ethnic and local languages in the press and mass media, as well as the teaching of their literature in schools alongside Persian, is permitted.
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| Abdolsattar Doshouki is a political analyst, activist, and the director of the Balochistan Studies Center in London. |
Deprivation from education in one’s mother tongue is not only a disregard for the flawed constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran and a blatant violation of human rights but also has significant consequences for the future well-being and civic participation of Iran's ethnic groups, particularly the Baluch, Turks, Arabs, Turkmen, and Kurds. To understand this unjust and painful reality, one must confront the bitter truth of persistent discrimination in our country.
By Abdul Sattar Doshouki - February 21, 2011
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| Abdolsattar Doshouki, a political analyst, activist, and the director of the Balochistan Studies Center in London. |
Today, Monday, February 21, marks International Mother Language Day. Fifty-nine years ago, on this day (February 21, 1952), students in Bangladesh, which was then part of Pakistan, protested to demand the recognition of Bengali, a language ranked sixth worldwide regarding the number of speakers. The Pakistani army, whose official language was Urdu—a language ranked twentieth globally in terms of the number of speakers—responded to this natural and "inherent" right with molten lead, brutally suppressing the peaceful student gathering. At the time, Pakistan consisted of five major provinces: Bengal (now Bangladesh), Punjab, Sarhad (Pashtunistan), Sindh, and Balochistan. Urdu was the mother tongue of less than 4% of Pakistan’s population. It took nearly half a century for UNESCO’s General Conference, in November 1999, to declare that bloody day as International Mother Language Day.
Deutsche Welle Persian – Taher Shir Mohammadi - September 8, 2010
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has strongly criticized the situation of ethnic groups in Iran in its periodic report. Deutsche Welle sought the opinions of two experts on ethnic issues in Iran: Dr. Kamal Sido and Abdolsattar Doshouki.
Taher Shir Mohammadi - Deutsche Welle Persian - 24 June 2009
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| Protests Against the Announced Election Results |
Dr. Abdol Sattar Doshoki - April 30, 2009
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| Dr. Abdol Sattar Doshoki |
It seems that the word "federalism" is an unappealing term to the political ears of many compatriots, as they do not consider it a reliable or suitable system for managing the affairs of our country. Advocates and opponents of federalism often defend their positions resolutely and sometimes passionately without a scientific, historical, or objective analysis of the various federal systems in more than twenty-five democratic countries worldwide, or an evaluation of its compatibility with the future of Iran. This article aims to inform and dissect the contentious issue of federalism, free from any biased justification or rejection, to provide compatriots with a deeper understanding of the subject. Opposition to federalism can be reasonable and understandable if it is based on logic and argument, rather than mere prejudice and fear.
Taher Shir Mohammad - Deutsche Welle Persian, February 12, 2009
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| 1978 Tabriz protests |
Ethnic groups played a significant role in the success of the 1979 Revolution. But were their hopes and demands fulfilled after the revolution? What is their current view of the revolution and the country's ongoing issues? Ethnic experts answer these questions for Deutsche Welle.
According to ethnic group experts, including Yousef Azizi Beniorof, an Iranian Arab writer, throughout modern Iranian history, from the Constitutional Revolution to the 1979 Revolution, Tehran could not complete its revolutions without the involvement of Tabriz.
Mehrdad Farahmand - BBC Persian - May 17, 2004
