On Monday, at least 37 people were arrested in Baku as part of ongoing protests in solidarity with schoolchildren who wear the hijab. Pro-government media later reported that 200 people had been detained, but there has been no official confirmation as of publication.
On Tuesday, six minors were detained on suspicion of attempting to set fire to school.
The protests began after reports that girls wearing Islamic headscarves had been denied entry to public schools. Videos shared on social media showed students gathering outside school buildings and demanding that their classmates be allowed to attend lessons.
The first video of protests over restrictions on hijab-wearing students emerged from Jalilabad, in southern Azerbaijan, before spreading to the capital Baku and the surrounding villages. Videos also began to emerge from Sumgait, a city neighbouring Baku.
The protests have taken various forms, including demonstrations outside schools and messages expressing support for the hijab on social media and Azerbaijani manat banknotes.
The ostensible hijab ban stems from a new ‘secular’ dress code for public schools, which has reignited debate over religious freedom and secular education.
What are the new rules?
On 21 September, Azerbaijan’s Cabinet of Ministers amended the rules governing school uniforms in public schools. The decision prohibits clothing items that violate the uniform dress code or are considered inconsistent with the secular principle of general education.
The decision does not explicitly mention the hijab. However, its wording has raised concerns that it could be used to prevent girls wearing headscarves from attending classes. The authorities have presented the rules as a way to maintain a uniform and orderly school environment.
The changes followed amendments to the country’s general education law in July, which introduced clothing standards for both students and teachers in state schools. On 9 October, the Baku City Education Department announced that it would begin monitoring compliance with the dress code.
Why is the hijab controversial?
Azerbaijan is a secular state with a predominantly Muslim population. The authorities have long maintained a distinction between religious belief and the secular character of public institutions.
However, the application of school uniform rules to religious headscarves has been a recurring source of tension. Critics argue that preventing girls from attending school because of their hijab could restrict their right to education and freedom of religion. Supporters of a strict dress code, meanwhile, point to the need to maintain secular education and common rules in public schools.
OC MediaRafig Shahbazov
The central issue is that, although the new regulations do not explicitly ban the hijab, reports of students being turned away from schools suggest that the rules may be applied to restrict its use. By framing the rules as applying to all students, the authorities can present them as a general school uniform policy rather than a measure targeting the hijab specifically.
The hijab issue has previously triggered protests in Azerbaijan. In 2010–2012, restrictions on wearing headscarves in educational institutions led to demonstrations and arrests.
The issue has remained sensitive ever since, particularly among religious groups and families who consider wearing the hijab an important part of their faith.
The current protests are notable because public demonstrations are rare in Azerbaijan, where unsanctioned gatherings face significant restrictions. The involvement of school students also brings the issue beyond religious groups, raising broader questions about access to education and how secular rules are enforced.
How has pro-government media covered the issue?
Pro-government media has defended the school dress code by presenting it as a way to protect Azerbaijan’s secular education system.
In one recent clip, Azerbaijani state television showed pupils wearing hijabs alongside those without headscarves and asked viewers which school they would prefer to attend. The programme stressed that Azerbaijan is a Muslim-majority but secular country, and argued that the new rules do not mean the state disregards Islamic values.
Other online media outlets have cited ECHR rulings on restrictions on religious dress in France to justify Azerbaijan’s school uniform rules.
The ongoing protests have also been largely side-lined, with alleged criminal activity instead the main focus. At the same time, pro-government media has also portrayed protesters as Iranian provocateurs, fitting in a long trend of attempts to link conservative Islam to Tehran.
How has the hijab ban affected Azerbaijan–Turkey relations?
Right after Azerbaijan’s adoption of the new dress code, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke at the UN General Assembly stating that banning the hijab in schools in certain unnamed countries was unacceptable.
At an October congress of Azerbaijan’s ruling New Azerbaijan Party (YAP), Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev later warned outside forces against interfering in the country’s internal affairs. The remarks came amidst growing tensions between the two countries over the issue.
Subsequently, Oktay Saral, a chief adviser to Erdoğan, described the refusal to allow hijab-wearing students to attend classes in Azerbaijan as unacceptable in a post on X.
‘How can it be morally or legally justified to turn away a student at the school gate because she covers her head for religious reasons? The hijab is not an obstacle; it is a requirement of faith! The right to education must not be sacrificed to ideological impositions!’, Saral wrote.
‘We expect Azerbaijan to reverse this mistake as soon as possible. Rather than putting obstacles in the way of young people’s futures, we should help them move forward’.
The YAP then responded to Saral, accusing several Turkish media outlets and social media platforms, including outlets known for their proximity to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), of spreading false, biased, discrediting, and defamatory information about Azerbaijan.
The statement also included a pointed reference to the Ottoman Empire, saying that ‘the Azerbaijani people have historically opposed imperialism, colonialism, and neocolonial approaches. This principled position remains unchanged today’.
‘Such statements run counter to the spirit of brotherly relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey and could serve to create artificial tensions in the public sphere’.
What happens next?
The authorities have announced monitoring of school dress code compliance, but it remains unclear how schools will interpret the rules in cases involving the hijab. The key question is whether students will be able to continue their education while wearing religious headscarves.
For now, the protests have turned a school uniform dispute into a wider debate over secularism, religious freedom, and the right to education in Azerbaijan.