(Photograph) - Nigar Yildiz, 27, covers her mouth in protest at Turkey’s gagging order on education in Kurdish. Hundreds of other Kurdish women made V signs and chanted slogans demanding the right to be taught in Kurdish during an International Women’s Day demonstration in Istanbul. Turkey does not recognise the country’s estimated 12 million Kurds as a minority, fearing that to do so would lead to a break-up of the state. Kurdish is outlawed in education and broadcasts other than music. Education has been put at the centre of a battle over cultural rights between the Turkish authorities and campaigners, as the government in Ankara comes under pressure to reform in preparation for joining the European Union.