Pioneer of the mother language revolution: Xaliya Ehmed

Xaliya Ehmed, who learned to read and write in her mother language despite all the oppression and prohibitions during the rule of the Baathist regime, realized her dream by getting her teaching certificate after the revolution. She calls on mothers to “Teach children their mother language.”

ROJ HOZAN

Qamishlo – When we say mother language, we think of mothers because mothers are the first defenders and pioneers of the mother language. 50-year-old Xaliya Ehmed lives in the Sihil village of Tirbespiye, NE Syria. The biggest dream of Xaliya Ehmed, one of the mothers who draw attention to the importance of mother language during the revolution, was to read and learn Kurdish. She realized her dream by learning how to write and read in Kurdish.

“I always followed my dream”

Xaliya Ehmed told us how she began to learn her mother language, “We carried out our activities in the 1990s with the emergence of the Kurdish Freedom Movement. In those days, we faced many challenges as we were deprived of education in our mother language due to the traditions imposed on women. I dreamed of going to school but I didn’t have any opportunity. Despite everything, I always followed my dream. After the revolution, activities for education in the mother language started. My brother Farhan was one of the first students. He helped me to write and learn Kurdish. Every day, he taught me how to write and read in Kurdish. Then, I did a lot of research on the Kurdish language. My mother always spoke Kurdish at home; she was a defender of the Kurdish language.” 

She opened a madrasah to teach Kurdish

Xaliya Ehmed talked about what she has done for education in Kurdish. “When leader Apo (Abdullah Öcalan) was on the field, the Kurdish teachers secretly gave Kurdish courses in Rojava Kurdistan. The language courses were held in the houses of patriots, and we, as mothers, once again led the language revolution. We used to hide our books and pens under our clothes due to the oppression of the Baathist regime. They didn’t allow us to learn our mother language. We carried out all of our works secretly and managed to instill the love of the mother language in society. I learned my mother language but felt that I should improve myself. I opened a madrasah in my husband’s village. All of my students were young people.”

“I got my teaching certificate after the revolution”

Xaliya Ehmed noted that after the start of the revolution, teachers from Maxmur came to Rojava Kurdistan in 2013 and gave Kurdish courses for all segments of society. She had the chance to study Kurdish with professional teachers in her village once again, “I felt very lucky. At that time, I wasn’t a student, I studied to teach Kurdish. My aim was to grow up the next defenders of their mother language. When my friends heard that I gave Kurdish courses at home, they became very happy,” she told us.

“I realized my dream after getting my certificate”

Stating that she loves her students, Xaliya Ehmed said, “I chose the subjects for the students according to my imagination and thus I learned better. For the first time, I wrote Kurdish on the blackboard in Kurdistan after the revolution in Rojava. I continued to receive education in my mother language until I got my teaching certificate. My aim was not to get a certificate but teach my mother language. I realized my dream.”

Call on mothers: “Teach your children their mother language”

 Xaliya Ehmed called on all mothers. “They should teach their children their mother language. I saw how our children were subjected to injustice in public schools. In the past, people speaking their mother tongue in schools were subjected to torture. Language means mothers. My mother asked me to protect my language. I call on everyone to learn and teach their mother language.”

The end