Azerbaijan pupils protest school dress code that bars hijabs; 37 arrested in Baku

Left · 1Pupils and teachers in Azerbaijan have protested a new school dress code that in practice stops them wearing the hijab, with videos showing schoolchildren demonstrating outside schools and boycotting classes. 1 2 Left · 1The government approved the new uniform rules on September 21, barring students from classes in clothing that contradicts the secular nature of education; from October 6 similar requirements were extended to teachers. 3 Left · 1Al Jazeera describes the amendment as an indirect prohibition: it stops short of explicitly banning the headscarf but bars clothing the government says violates the “principle of secularism”. 4

Left · 1The state-run APA agency said the aim is a unified dress code reflecting the country’s secular principle, and that clothing reflecting the “history, culture, and national and moral values of the Azerbaijani people” may be worn for celebrations if the Pedagogical Council approves. 4 Left · 1Teacher Zahra Hasanova told Al Jazeera she was told she could no longer wear the hijab at school, calling it a personal choice; videos showed students hugging teachers and crying as they were turned away, and local media reported class boycotts at at least two schools. 4 Left · 1Citing the Interior Ministry via Minval, Meduza reports that 37 people were arrested in Baku, that protesters clashed with school staff and tried to disrupt schools and traffic, and that they set fire to a school director’s car in Garadagh and tried to set fire to a school in Yasamal, with no injuries. 3

Left · 1A criminal case has been opened for organising or actively participating in actions that disrupt public order, which carries up to three years in prison. 3 Left · 1On October 12 schools began checking compliance, and APA reported that improperly dressed students were given talks with school doctors and psychologists and their parents were called in. 3 Left · 1Lawmaker Sevinj Fataliyeva said the rules are not a fight against anyone’s faith but protect a neutral educational space where a child is not divided into “religious” and “non-religious”. 3

Left · 1Jailed journalist Polad Aslanov, serving 113 years after a 2020 high treason conviction, began a hunger strike against the rules. 4 Left · 1The dispute has spread abroad: protesters gathered outside Azerbaijan’s consulate in Istanbul, and President Ilham Aliyev warned, without naming Turkiye, not to “interfere with our lifestyle”. Ankara gave no official response, though Erdogan told the UN General Assembly on September 23 that Muslim women face growing discrimination. 4 Left · 1Al Jazeera’s video report says users reported disruptions to social media platforms, but its explainer says reports of internet blackouts were not confirmed by data from NetBlocks and the Open Observatory of Network Interference. 2 4