MIHRİBAN SELAM KAKAYİ

Halabja-22,000 non-contract teachers demanding permanent employment in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region have held protests in Ranya, Erbil, and Sulaymaniyah for two weeks. Today, the non-contract teachers gathered in Halabja to make their voices heard. The protesters, mostly women, carried banners reading, “We are from Kurdistan”, “We demand permanent employment”, and “We want to practice our profession.” 

Women are the frontlines of the protests

“I have worked as a non-contract teacher for five years.  I teach 28 hours a week. I attend all protests with my child. But we haven’t received any response until now. We have no strength left,” protester Besoz Emer told us.

Reminding that more than 22,000 non-contract teachers demand permanent employment, Lana Sedîq said, “We will continue to protest until our demands are accepted until we have our rights. Women take to the streets to have their rights, they are leading the protests.”

“Teachers travel hours to join protests”

Bedriya Mesud, a non-contract Kurdish language teacher from the village of Şiremer, travels for hours to join protests across the Kurdistan Region. “I spend hours to demand my rights. I have joined every protest for two weeks. Our demands haven’t been accepted so far.”