Azerbaijan bars female students in hijabs from schools — BBC News
In Azerbaijan, female students wearing hijabs have begun to be barred from state schools following the introduction of new school uniform requirements. Protests took place outside educational institutions in Baku, as well as in the southern districts of Masally and Jalilabad, BBC News reports.
Rules and detentions
The new rules, approved on September 21, prohibit clothing in state schools that contradicts the “principle of secularism in education.” The document does not explicitly mention the hijab. On October 6, similar requirements were extended to teachers.
Videos shared on social media show female students in hijabs outside schools. In one video, schoolgirls outside School No. 69 in the settlement of Balakhany near Baku hold a sign reading: “The hijab does not prevent anyone from getting an education.”
Azerbaijan’s Interior Ministry said it detained 37 people on Monday who, according to the ministry, tried to obstruct the implementation of the rules and grossly violated public order. On Tuesday, Shahiza Huseynova, a mother who was protesting outside a school in Baku’s Mashtaga district, was detained.
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Friends of activist Ilkin Huseynov said they lost contact with him after he left his home in Baku with unidentified men on Wednesday. The day before, he launched the Let Leyli Go to School online platform, offering free volunteer-led lessons for students who had been barred from classes. Authorities did not comment on the situation, while the activist’s friends believe he was detained.
Turkey’s reaction
The dispute spread to Turkey, Azerbaijan’s closest ally. Oktay Saral, chief adviser to the Turkish president, called the restrictions unacceptable and urged Baku to revoke them. He wrote on X: “A headscarf is not an obstacle; it is a requirement of faith.”
Several lawmakers from Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party also commented on the matter. Small protests took place outside Azerbaijan’s embassy in Ankara and the country’s consulate in Istanbul. The New Azerbaijan Party of President Ilham Aliyev accused Turkish officials of conducting a defamatory information campaign and called on them not to interfere in the country’s internal affairs.
