Azerbaijan’s government has approved an amendment that stops short of an explicit ban but indirectly keeps students and staff from wearing the hijab in schools, a change that has set off protests. The amendment, approved last month, bars clothing that officials say breaches the country’s secular principles, and some schools have already begun turning students and teachers away from classes.
The dispute has also spread beyond Azerbaijan. A social media campaign and demonstrations have reached Turkiye, and an imprisoned journalist has started a hunger strike over the new requirements.
What the dress code change says about secularism
The state-run Azerbaijani Press Agency said the revised uniform rules for students at state general education institutions were meant to establish a unified dress code that reflects the country’s secularism. It added that clothing reflecting the history and culture of the Azerbaijani people, along with its moral values, may be worn at celebrations, provided the Pedagogical Council approves it. That council operates under the Ministry of Science and Education.
According to the agency, such outfits would help teachers meet professional standards and would benefit the public image of schools.
Students and teachers push back against the restrictions
Videos circulating online reportedly show pupils embracing their teachers and weeping as they were sent away from school gates. Local media outlets said students at no fewer than two schools had boycotted lessons to oppose the restrictions.
Teacher Zahra Hasanova said she had been told she could no longer wear the hijab at school. She said she felt emotional and hurt, and argued that wearing a headscarf is a personal decision, one she believes should also be hers to change later.
Imprisoned journalist Polad Aslanov, who is serving a 113-year sentence after being convicted of high treason in 2020, has begun a hunger strike against the new rules. In a message posted on Facebook by his wife, Gulmira Aslanova, he said he was protesting the violation of constitutional rights through the only form of struggle open to him.
Protests reach Turkiye and Baku responds
The campaign has also reached Turkiye, where some commentators have compared the situation with the country’s post-modern coup of 1997, when women in headscarves were barred from university classes and removed from or pushed out of civil service jobs. Last week, demonstrators gathered outside Azerbaijan’s consulate in Istanbul, urging authorities in Baku to reconsider the decision.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev indirectly criticised Turkiye, a strong ally, over the protests. Speaking at the congress of his New Azerbaijan Party, he warned against interference with the country’s way of life, without naming Turkiye.
Authorities in Ankara did not officially respond to his remarks. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, however, said in his September 23 address to the United Nations General Assembly that Muslim women were facing growing discrimination.
Constitutional guarantees and unconfirmed internet reports
About 96 percent of Azerbaijan’s population identifies as Muslim. The constitution defines the country as secular while also guaranteeing religious freedom.
Reports of internet blackouts have not been confirmed by monitoring groups, including the Open Observatory of Network Interference and NetBlocks.
