Why Azerbaijan is restricting hijab in schools — and what comes next

An Azerbaijani government decision that effectively restricts students and teachers from wearing the hijab in schools has triggered protests, with reports of students being turned away from classes and teachers facing restrictions.

An amendment approved last month stopped short of explicitly banning the Muslim headscarf but prohibited clothing that authorities said violated the “principle of secularism”.

The measure has prompted protests as some schools began preventing students and teachers wearing hijabs from attending classes.

Zahra Hasanova, a teacher affected by the restriction, told Al Jazeera that she had been informed she could no longer wear the hijab at school.

“To be honest, I am a little emotional. I am hurt,” she said. “The hijab is a personal choice, and if one day I want to take it off, that should be my choice too.”

How is the restriction being implemented?

The state-run Azerbaijani Press Agency (APA) said the amendment to the Descriptions of Uniforms for Students of State General Education Institutions was intended to establish a uniform dress code reflecting the country’s “secular principle”.

About 96% of Azerbaijan’s population identifies as Muslim. The country’s constitution defines it as a secular state while guaranteeing freedom of religion.

According to APA, clothing reflecting the “history, culture, and national and moral values of the Azerbaijani people” may be permitted during celebrations, subject to approval by the Pedagogical Council under the Ministry of Science and Education.

APA said the rules were intended to ensure that teachers met “professional standards” and would positively affect the “school’s public reputation”.

Have protests taken place?

The restrictions have triggered protests and a social media campaign in Azerbaijan. Videos circulating online showed students hugging teachers and crying as they were turned away from schools.

Local media reported that students at at least two schools boycotted classes in protest against the restrictions.

Imprisoned journalist Polad Aslanov, who is serving a 13-year prison sentence after being convicted of high treason in 2020, also launched a hunger strike over the new requirements.

“Despite being in prison, I am raising my voice against the trampling of our constitutional rights by employing the only means of struggle available to me – a hunger strike!” Aslanov wrote in a message posted on Facebook by his wife, Gulmira Aslanova.

Reports of internet blackouts have not been corroborated by data from monitoring organisations, including the Open Observatory of Network Interference and NetBlocks.

How have other countries reacted?

Protests and a social media campaign have also spread to Türkiye. Some demonstrators have drawn parallels between the restrictions in Azerbaijan and Türkiye’s “post-modern coup” in 1997, when women wearing headscarves were barred from attending university classes, dismissed from civil service jobs or forced to resign.

Last week, demonstrators gathered outside Azerbaijan’s consulate in Istanbul to protest the restrictions on Muslim women and urge authorities in Baku to reconsider the decision.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev appeared to criticise the protests in Türkiye, a close ally of Azerbaijan. Speaking at a congress of his New Azerbaijan Party, Aliyev warned against attempts to “interfere with our lifestyle”, without directly mentioning Türkiye.

Authorities in Ankara did not officially respond to Aliyev’s remarks. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, however, said in his 23 September address to the United Nations General Assembly that Muslim women were facing increasing discrimination.