Free Zara Mohammadi, the Kurdish Teacher Unjustly Imprisoned
Author: Kani Mohammadi
8 December 2021
Ms. Zara Mohammadi, a Kurdish language teacher and social activist, was charged with “establishing a committee and group against the system’s stability and security” and sentenced to five years in prison by a Sanandaj appeals court in February 2021.
Ms. Zahra Mohammadi, 30, is the director of the Nojin Cultural Association, an organization whose work includes teaching the Kurdish language and literature.
Initially, Ms. Mohamamdi was arrested on 23 May 2019 for fabricated charges of national security offenses and had been sentenced to 10 years in jail before launching an appeal.
She was then released on bail (700 million Iranian tomans – approximately $27,000) on 2 December 2019. She was charged with national security offenses concerning her civil society work was released on bail after six months in Iranian detention.
Education in some minority languages like Kurdish has been available only through private classes, reducing the accessibility and affordability of Kurdish education. Furthermore, private teachers must obtain a license from the state to teach Kurdish, which places an additional barrier to private practice. Kurdish language teachers have been facing harassment and persecution, as illustrated by the situation of Zara Mohammadi.
The lack of access to mother tongue education in primary and secondary schools remains a significant challenge, highlighted as an issue of concern by the CRC during the 2016 review of Iran[1].
This access at a young age is critical both to preserve minorities’ distinct culture and identity, and to promote equality of opportunities. Indeed, some studies have linked high dropout rates and low academic performance of children belonging to linguistic minorities to a lack of instruction in their primary language[2].
[1] CRC 2016, reference; CRC/C/IRN/CO/3-4https://docstore.ohchr.org/SelfServices/FilesHandler.ashx?enc=6QkG1d%2fPPRiCAqhKb7yhsoLV%2bKLJ6ZP5NvlpJ%2b3%2fKzWqgn8BQew%2fsP7yiJji8bpUhL1FTM9OFocxWl70Ezjf32ZgnmpgjWKYz1NQysmsNzcknUyyqXslAx8UTL6Wk5Qs
[2] International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Khuzestan’s Teachers: academic failuXre and students’ dropouts are the result of not speaking the native language in schools. (8 November 2013) available at: https://persian.iranhumanrights.org/1392/07/arab_language/
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Zara Released
Update: On February 10, 2023, Zara Mohammadi was released suddenly and without explanation from legal authorities. The international pressure on the Iranian government due to numerous petitions caused this decision. Ms. Zara Mohammadi announced in a video immediately after her release that she did not make any commitment to the judicial authorities or sign any document in favor of the government. She emphasized that neither she nor her lawyer had requested amnesty.
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Update
Update, January 4, 2023 – Hengaw news agency wrote that Zara Mohammadi’s husband, Mr. Sayvan Ebrahimi, who went to the Sanandaj court to pursue Zara’s case, was arrested. There is no information about his whereabouts.
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کانی محمدی started this petition
ئازادی بۆ زارا محەممەدی، مامۆستای بەندکراوی زمانی کوردی لە ئێران