A Kurdish language and literature department, the first of its kind in Turkey, has opened at Mardin’s Artuklu University, university Deputy Rector Professor Kadri Yıldırım announced on Friday.

Turkey’s Higher Education Board (YÖK) approved the opening of the department, which will accept 20 students at the beginning of the 2011-2012 academic year. The Kurdish language and literature department is a part of the university’s Faculty of Letters, Today’s Zaman reported.

For years, Turkey refused to recognize Kurdish as a language, banning its use and demanding the use of Turkish instead.