For long Iran was synonymous with Persia. Unfortunately, there was and is a misconception that all the people in Iran are Persians and Farsi speakers, while the reality is that more than half of the 82 Million population of Iran speak different languages.Farsi however, remains the sole language of instruction in Iranian schools. Alongside Farsi, Baluchi, Arabic, Kurdish, Turkish, Gilak, Luri are the languages that are spoken in Iran .
These are the languages that are referred to as mother tongue, languages that are banned, only spoken at home, and there is no space for them to grow and flourish. As the country has only one official language, the other languages do not have the same statue of Farsi and are pushed to margins. In reality it is not simply the language that is pushed to the margins but the people who spoke those languages.
What becomes of the students whose mother tongue is not Farsi? What are the challenges they are facing in the Iranian education system? In the following video with the theme of native tongues in Iran, some of the challenges and road blocks experienced by these children are highlighted.
The video also pays an especial attention to the value and privilege of the ability to speak another language in addition to official language of the country . A privilege that unfortunately in Iran is considered as a threat and is heavily suppressed. In Iran people belonging to ethnic minorities campaign each year on the first day of school for equal education rights for their children i.e. education in mother tongue.
