Turkey: Kurdish teacher faces online harassment over language lessons

Pro-Kurdish People's Equality and Democracy Party (HEDEP) expressed solidarity with Kurdish language teacher Mizgin Yalcin after she became the target of online harassment for teaching city names in Kurdish.

The videos shared on her social media accounts, particularly one where she teaches students the names of cities in Kurdish, have sparked outrage among ultranationalist circles who have shamelessly taken and reposted the content, leading to a wave of online bullying.

In a statement on Twitter, HEDEP emphasized that the right of Kurds to exist is intertwined with their language, culture, and the geography from which it originates.

“We see this discrimination-based attack as the reason for the intolerance and attack on the Kurdish language. We stand by our dear teacher Mizgin Yalcin and share the warmth and enthusiasm of this moment when her dear students meet with their mother tongue," the statement read.

Mizgin Yalcin, not confined to traditional classrooms, also provides Kurdish language lessons through online platforms, notably on her social media handle, "Kurdi Online." Her virtual classes attract students from the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Azerbaijan, and Turkey, making her a prominent figure in the online Kurdish language education community.

The incident escalated to the point where Mizgin Yalcin had to call for legal assistance through her social media accounts. In response to the unjustified attacks, a multitude of support poured in from various segments of society.