A Kurdish woman in Siirt (Sêrt) was denied medical treatment because she does not speak Turkish, prompting the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party to raise the issue in Parliament and call for reforms to prevent language discrimination in healthcare.
Fatma Sümeli, who suffers from hearing issues, was refused treatment at Siirt Education and Research Hospital on Tuesday because she only speaks Kurdish. The doctor noted in her file that the “SRT values could not be measured as the patient does not speak Turkish.” Sümeli was advised to seek treatment in another city, despite the availability of Kurdish speakers at the hospital.
Sümeli’s son, Abbas, explained the situation, saying, “My mother was told to go to another city, even though we could have helped translate. There were Kurdish-speaking staff available, but they insisted we go elsewhere.” He added that many in the city speak Kurdish, and such language barriers should not prevent access to healthcare.
On Thursday, DEM Party MP Sabahat Erdoğan Sarıtaş submitted a parliamentary inquiry, urging the Health Ministry to address language barriers in healthcare and calling for reforms that recognise Kurdish as a language of public services.
Sarıtaş asked Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu whether any action would be taken against the doctor who refused to treat Sümeli. She also questioned whether there were other cases of patients being denied treatment in Siirt for not speaking Turkish and demanded to know what plans the ministry has to address this language barrier in healthcare services.
The DEM party MP also highlighted the broader issue of linguistic exclusion, stating that Kurdish citizens are being denied essential health services due to the lack of recognition of their language in public institutions. She called for policy changes that would allow Kurdish to be used in all public sectors, particularly healthcare, where it impacts the right to access essential services.
Sümeli’s family has filed a complaint with the Health Ministry, arguing that the denial of treatment based on language is a violation of their rights. Abbas Sümeli emphasised the importance of receiving healthcare in one’s native language, saying, “We’ve seen again how crucial it is to have access to health services in our mother tongue.”
The parliamentary inquiry includes questions about the ministry’s plans to ensure that Turkish-speaking healthcare providers are equipped to accommodate non-Turkish speakers, particularly in regions where Kurdish is the predominant language. It also asks whether the ministry will make efforts to implement a human rights-based policy that ensures all citizens can access healthcare in their native language.
