Turkey’s top court has permitted a Kurdish couple to name their child ‘Kurdistan’- a word historically banned in the country. A lower court previously attempted to block the naming, calling it an “insult to society.”
Yunus and Elif Toprak named their daughter after the region
considered by Kurds to be their ethnic homeland. 'Kurdistan' was
considered seditious when it was banned and the lower court
ruling told the couple that the 23-month-old girl should be named
'Helin' instead – a name common across the southwestern Sanliurfa
province.
Turkish news agency Dogan said that the higher court overruled
the earlier decision, stating that every parent had the right to
name their own children, even if the origin of the name is
foreign.
Until 2002, Turkey had banned the usage of the Kurdish language
and teaching it in schools, with the words ‘Kurd’ and ‘Kurdish’
banned as well. The usage of the language became illegal after
the 1980 Turkish armed forces' coup d'état.
The usage of the words has been considered an expression of
support for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has
made frequent bids for independence and autonomy for the
Kurd-populated regions of southeastern Turkey,
The PKK began fighting for Kurdish self-rule in southeastern
Turkey in 1984. Approximately 45,000 people have died over the
course of the conflict.
A peace process was tentatively begun between the group and
Anakara after the PKK's imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan
instigated a landmark ceasefire in March. The PKK subsequently
agreed to remove some 2,000 fighters from Turkey and send them
back to bases in northern Iraq.
Kurds originate from the Medes of ancient Persia and are
predominantly Sunni Muslims. They populate the mountainous region
spanning Turkey, Iran, Syria and Iraq, and have retained their
own language and culture.
They are regarded as a separate political thread by all four of
the countries because they are not Arabs, Turks or Persians.
However, Iraq made Kurdish an official language in 2004.