Demand for official status for turkic tanguages in Afghanistan

A working seminar of Afghan Uzbeks (Turks) was held in Ankara, Turkey, hosted by the “Dostum fondi”. The event brought together Turkish and Afghan academics, researchers, civil society representatives, and students. This was reported on May 27 by the Turkish publication "Bengü Türk".

The seminar, which featured four sessions, addressed the challenges faced by the Turkic communities—primarily Uzbeks and Turkmens—in Afghanistan. Participants presented various proposals for resolving these issues and shared them with the public.

One of the central topics of discussion was the historical and geographical identity of Afghanistan. Participants unanimously argued that the region, historically part of “Greater Turkestan,” is deliberately labeled with terms such as “Northern Afghanistan,” while its true historical name should be “Southern Turkestan.”

The seminar strongly criticized the policies of the Taliban’s interim government. It was emphasized that assimilation policies are being implemented, especially in areas densely populated by Turkic peoples. In response, the participants demanded that the Uzbek and Turkmen languages be recognized as official state languages in Afghanistan. They also called for constitutional guarantees for mother-tongue education in schools and universities in “Southern Turkestan.”

Speakers stressed the need to preserve historical cities such as Balkh, Herat, Bamiyan, and Badakhshan, warning that migration from Pakistan and Southeast Asia poses a threat to the region’s demographic balance. To address these concerns, calls were made for the Organization of Turkic States, the Republic of Turkey, and the international community to take active steps.

The statement also voiced a strong reaction to the exclusion of women from education and employment. It urged the international community to apply pressure on the Taliban to guarantee girls' access to secondary, lyceum, and higher education, as well as women's equal participation in public life. As a short-term measure, the expansion of online education programs was proposed.

The seminar also underlined the need to enhance the political representation of Turks in Afghanistan and agreed to establish an Afghan Uzbek diaspora network.

Other proposals included launching digital archival projects to preserve the heritage of historical Turkestan, initiating joint cultural heritage projects with UNESCO, and forming a “Working Group on the Culture and Affairs of Historical Turkestan.”

For reference, according to 2022 statistics, there are an estimated 5.5 million Uzbeks living in Afghanistan.

It is worth recalling that a previous report highlighted how Uzbeks in Afghanistan—despite being one of the country’s largest ethnic groups—are often unaware of Uzbeks living in Uzbekistan or elsewhere.