The Kurds are an ethnic group with their own unique language, culture and customs. As a people, they are spread across the Middle East in a geographically contiguous area that spans Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. Although according to some reports, at least 13 percent of the Iranian population is Kurdish, the Kurdish language is not taught in schools, even in Kurdish majority areas, despite protections provided for in the Iranian Constitution. Iranian Kurds who called for greater linguistic rights can face arrest, imprisonment, and even execution under the charges of “national security.”
Photo: Iranian Kurds protesting against ISIS