Free Zara Mohammadi, the Kurdish Teacher Unjustly Imprisoned
396
Signatures
500
Goal
Author: Kani Mohammadi
8 December 2021
Ms. Zara Mohammadi, a Kurdish language teacher and social activist, was charged with “establishing a committee and group against the system’s stability and security” and sentenced to five years in prison by a Sanandaj appeals court in February 2021.
Ms. Zahra Mohammadi, 30, is the director of the Nojin Cultural Association, an organization whose work includes teaching the Kurdish language and literature.
Initially, Ms. Mohamamdi was arrested on 23 May 2019 for fabricated charges of national security offenses and had been sentenced to 10 years in jail before launching an appeal.
She was then released on bail (700 million Iranian tomans – approximately $27,000) on 2 December 2019. She was charged with national security offenses concerning her civil society work was released on bail after six months in Iranian detention.
Education in some minority languages like Kurdish has been available only through private classes, reducing the accessibility and affordability of Kurdish education. Furthermore, private teachers must obtain a license from the state to teach Kurdish, which places an additional barrier to private practice. Kurdish language teachers have been facing harassment and persecution, as illustrated by the situation of Zara Mohammadi.
The lack of access to mother tongue education in primary and secondary schools remains a significant challenge, highlighted as an issue of concern by the CRC during the 2016 review of Iran[1].
This access at a young age is critical both to preserve minorities’ distinct culture and identity, and to promote equality of opportunities. Indeed, some studies have linked high dropout rates and low academic performance of children belonging to linguistic minorities to a lack of instruction in their primary language[2].
[1] CRC 2016, reference; CRC/C/IRN/CO/3-4https://docstore.ohchr.org/SelfServices/FilesHandler.ashx?enc=6QkG1d%2fPPRiCAqhKb7yhsoLV%2bKLJ6ZP5NvlpJ%2b3%2fKzWqgn8BQew%2fsP7yiJji8bpUhL1FTM9OFocxWl70Ezjf32ZgnmpgjWKYz1NQysmsNzcknUyyqXslAx8UTL6Wk5Qs
[2] International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Khuzestan’s Teachers: academic failuXre and students’ dropouts are the result of not speaking the native language in schools. (8 November 2013) available at: https://persian.iranhumanrights.org/1392/07/arab_language/
Recent events
-
See where all the votes are coming from
Province Number of signatures Alborz 3 Ardabil 0 Bushehr 0 Chahar Mahaal and Bakhtiari 0 East Azerbaijan 4 Fars 1 Gilan 0 Golestan 1 Hamadan 0 Hormozgan 0 Ilam 0 Isfahan 3 Kerman 2 Kermanshah 15 Khuzestan 0 Kohgiluyehv And Boyer Ahmad 0 Kurdistan 37 Lorestan 0 Markazi 0 Mazandaran 0 North Khorasan 0 Qazvin 0 Qom 0 Razavi Khorasan 2 Semnan 0 Sistan and Baluchestan 4 South Khorasan 0 Tehran 25 West Azerbaijan 20 Yazd 0 Zanjan 0 This petition has received 396 signatures so far. Approximately 71% of signatures come from Iran. Approximately 29% of signatures come from outside of Iran. Learn how Daadkhast generates signature maps. -
Latest signatures
-
-
-
-
امضا با تلگرام
-
-
-
آزادی زارا محمدی
به‌روز رسانی ـ ۲۱ بهمن ۱۴۰۱، زارا محمدی به طور ناگهانی و بدون توضیحی از جانب مقامات قانونی آزاد شد. به نظر می‌رسد فشارهای بین‌المللی به دولت ایران در اثر دادخواست‌های متعدد موجب این تصمیم شده. خانم زارا محمدی بلافاصله پس از آزادی در یک ویدیو اعلام کرد که هیچگونه تعهدی به مقامات قضایی نداده، و هیچ سندی را هم به نفع دولت امضا نکرده‌است. او تأکید کرد نه خود و نه وکیلش هیچ گونه تقاضای عفو نکرده بودند.
-
دستگیری همسر زارا محمدی
به‌روز رسانی، ۱۴ دی ۱۴۰۱ ـ خبرگزاری «هنگاو» نوشت که همسر زارا محمدی، آقای سیوان ابراهیمی، که برای پیگیری پرونده زارا به دادگاه سنندج مراجع کرده بود بازداشت شده است. از محل نگهداری او اطلاعی در دست نیست.
-
کانی محمدی started this petition
ئازادی بۆ زارا محەممەدی، مامۆستای بەندکراوی زمانی کوردی لە ئێران