Pupils, mostly teenage girls, have embarked on protests outside state-owned schools in Azerbaijan, and others have boycotted classes, following the government’s decision to ban the wearing of hijabs.
Azerbaijan’s education ministry began enforcing new uniform regulations last Monday, after the Cabinet of Ministers approved them on September 21, by sending home female pupils who arrived at school wearing hijabs.
The new rule prohibits students from attending school in clothing that deviates from the official uniform or is deemed inconsistent with the secular nature of public education.
On October 6, the government also adopted new guidelines governing teachers’ clothing in state schools and universities, explaining that the rules ban such clothing for contradicting “the principle of secularism in education” in state schools.
The new rule did not specifically mention the hijab, but female students and teachers wearing Islamic headscarves were denied entry to schools.
The Baku City Education Department also announced it will start monitoring compliance with the new dress requirements in public schools.
This sparked protests by pupils in government schools in Baku and in some southern districts, including Masally and Jalilabad.
A viral video showed pupils outside School No. 69 in Balakhany, outside Baku, displaying a banner that read, “The hijab does not prevent anyone from getting an education.”
Pupils at the school, and those at B Shiriyev Secondary School in the village of Mollaoba, Masally district, were said to have refused to attend classes, demanding that their hijab-wearing classmates be allowed to return to school.
Medyan TV showed footage of a teacher at Richard Sorge Secondary School (School No 90) in Baku being dismissed for wearing a hijab to class, while pupils in tears were seen hugging and consoling her.
On Monday, Azerbaijan’s Interior Ministry said 37 people opposing the enforcement of the new rules were apprehended for allegedly disturbing public order.
Defending the hijab ban, MP Nigar Arpadarai told the 1news.az website that children did not choose to wear the hijab themselves but were influenced by their families.
Mrs Arpadarai said, “A child has no freedom to choose a religion. This is a conscious prerogative of adults.”
Turkey is an ally of Azerbaijan, but Oktay Saral, the chief adviser to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, a devout Muslim, called the Azerbaijani restrictions “unacceptable” in a post on X on Monday and urged Baku to “reverse this mistake”.
Mr Saral wrote, “Blocking the right to education of students wearing headscarves in Azerbaijan is unacceptable! Leaving a student who covers her head for reasons of faith at the school gate—how can this fit into any conscience, any sense of justice?
“The headscarf is not an obstacle; it is a requirement of faith! The right to education cannot be sacrificed to any ideological imposition! We expect Azerbaijan to turn back from this mistake as soon as possible. Rather than obstructing the future of young people, their paths must be opened. In this day and age, such a mindset must never be tolerated!”
Reports said that since the protests began, users in Azerbaijan have had trouble accessing Instagram and TikTok without a virtual private network (VPN).
The oil-and gas-producing country of 10.5 million people is constitutionally secular, with 60 per cent of the population identifying as Shia Muslims.
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