Azerbaijan’s school hijab ban: What’s behind it, and what’s next?

[muhammed45]

Azerbaijan’s school hijab ban: What’s behind it, and what’s next?​

Protests have broken out as some schools begin preventing students and teachers from attending classes.

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Hijabs are displayed at a bazaar in Lankaran in southern Azerbaijan [File: Denis Doyle/Getty Images]

By Al Jazeera Staff
Published On 12 Oct 202612 Oct 2026
An Azerbaijan government decision to indirectly prohibit students and staff from wearing the hijab in schools has sparked protests.

The amendment approved last month stopped short of explicitly banning the Muslim headscarf but barred clothing in schools that the government said violates the “principle of secularism”.

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The decision has sparked protests as some schools began preventing students and teachers from attending classes.

Teacher Zahra Hasanova told Al Jazeera that she was 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 has the ban played out?​

The state-run Azerbaijani Press Agency (APA) said the amendment to the Descriptions of Uniforms for Students of State General Education Institutions aimed to ensure a unified dress code that reflects the country’s “secular principle”.

About 96 percent of Azerbaijan’s population identifies as Muslim. Its constitution defines the country as secular while also guaranteeing religious freedom.

The APA added that clothes that reflect the “history, culture, and national and moral values of the Azerbaijani people” may be worn for celebrations pending approval by the Pedagogical Council, which operates under the Ministry of Science and Education.

Such clothing ensures that teachers reflect “professional standards” and will have positive effects on the “school’s public reputation”, it said.

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Have protests taken place?​

The measure has sparked protests and a social media campaign in Azerbaijan. Videos circulated showing students hugging their teachers and crying as they were turned away from schools.

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

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  Hijabi students turned away from school in Azerbaijan​

Imprisoned journalist Polad Aslanov, who is serving a 113-year prison sentence after being convicted of high treason in 2020, launched a hunger strike over the new requirements.

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“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 confirmed by data from watchdogs, including Open Observatory of Network Interference and NetBlocks.

Have other countries reacted?​

A social media campaign followed by protests also spread to Turkiye. Some have drawn parallels between the developments in Azerbaijan and Turkiye’s “post-modern coup” in 1997 when women wearing headscarves were banned from attending university classes and dismissed from their civil service jobs or were forced to resign.

Demonstrators last week gathered outside Azerbaijan’s consulate in Istanbul to protest the restrictions affecting Muslim women, calling on authorities in Baku to reconsider the decision.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev issued a veiled criticism of Turkiye, a strong ally of Azerbaijan, for the protests. In a speech at his New Azerbaijan Party congress, Aliyev warned not to “interfere with our lifestyle” without directly mentioning Turkiye.

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

Azerbaijan’s school hijab ban: What’s behind it, and what’s next?

Protests have broken out as some schools begin preventing students and teachers from attending classes.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[muhammed45]

Aliyev once again proves that he is just an offshoot of Lenin's sperms.

 

[muhammed45]

When a bastard commits this heinous act, one cannot expect a better thing come out of his filthy mind.

Report: Azerbaijan Bans Koran, Islamic Symbols in Government Offices​

Shahin Abbasov Feb 25, 2010
Following violent clashes between police and Islamic activists in Baku in mid-February, the government has ordered all state employees to remove Islamic symbols from their offices, a source in Azerbaijan's Ministry of Internal Affairs tells EurasiaNet.

Religious items such as the Koran and ayahs -- the 6,236 Koran verses regarded by Muslims as divine revelations -- increasingly have shared space in government offices with the Azerbaijani flag and portraits of President Ilham Aliyev and his father, the late president Heydar Aliyev.

A source in the Ministry of Internal Affairs who did not want to be named stated that officials have been ordered to remove such religious items from government offices, explaining that "Azerbaijan is a secular state and religion [ought to be kept] separate from the state." The government has not yet commented officially on the issue.

The reported decision follows unexpected clashes on February 13 between about 100 Islamic activists and police in Baku that resulted in several injuries. Four activists who were detained have been charged with hooliganism and resisting police.

Rally organizers, members of the banned Islamic Party of Azerbaijan, a group widely perceived as pro-Iranian, claimed that the demonstration was staged to commemorate the anniversary of the death of the Prophet Mohammad. The city did not issue a permit for the demonstration.

Azerbaijan's State Committee for Religious Affairs called the February 13 incident "a planned action aimed to raise confrontation in society and to undermine tolerance." Three days later, Allahshukur Pashazadeh, head of the semi-official Caucasus Muslim Board, echoed that stance, condemning police violence against the group, but acknowledging the need for a rally permit.

Some analysts claim that Azerbaijan's southern neighbor Iran had the most immediate interest in such a demonstration. Iranian television journalists filmed the protest, they noted, while local media outlets were not notified of protest plans in advance.

Rauf Mirgadirov, political columnist for the opposition-friendly daily Zerkalo (The Mirror), links the demonstration to Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's official visit to Baku on February 9-11 and to ex-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's unofficial February 15 visit. Azerbaijan's ties with Israel have been an ongoing cause for complaint from Tehran.

"Obviously, Iran was unhappy with these visits; moreover, Lieberman's visit occurred the same day as the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran," Mirgadirov noted. Iranian media reported a protest by demonstrators outside Azerbaijan's Tehran embassy on the day of Lieberman's visit to Baku, he added.

President Aliyev and other high-ranking officials met with both Lieberman and Olmert. Topics for discussion with Lieberman included the import of Israeli military technology, local news agencies reported.

Akif Heydarli, a spokesman for Islamic Party rejected the allegation that it was "pro-Iranian" in orientation. "Our party is pro-Azerbaijani and pro-Islamic. We represent thousands of Azerbaijani citizens," he said in an interview with EurasiaNet. Heydarli added that the party had organized a "defense committee" to assist those still in custody in connection with the February 13 protest.

Arif Yunusov, the Baku-based author of a work on Islam in Azerbaijan, believes that Iran is trying to use Azerbaijanis' increased interest in Islam to exert influence. He cited the popular Iranian satellite television station Sahar, which broadcasts in Azeri, as a case in point. "Azerbaijani TV channels are censored, and broadcasting by the BBC, VOA and Radio Liberty was stopped. . . . Sahar has turned into the only source of alternative information for many people in Azerbaijan, especially in the provinces," Yunusov said.

For now, Baku is showing no sign of wanting to confront Iran publicly on the protest, or any other issue. After February 20-22 meetings in Tehran with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other top Iranian officials, Azerbaijani Parliamentary Speaker Ogtay Asadov rebuffed as "populist" comments from one pro-government MP about the demonstration outside Azerbaijan's Embassy.

"Azerbaijan should build good relations with Iran. We have 657 kilometers of common border and must have friendly relations," local media outlets quoted Asadov as saying.

The government is showing similar caution toward the growing interest in Islam among many Azerbaijanis, some observers believe. The crackdown on religious symbols in government offices follows a string of controversies about the closure and demolition of mosques. [For details, see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Human rights activist Ilgar Ibrahimoglu, imam of Baku's Juma mosque community and head of the DEVAM human rights center, contends that the removal of the Koran and ayahs from government offices, if confirmed, poses "an assault on freedom of conscience."

Political columnist Mirgadirov says the move suggests that the government worries that Islam's influence could "become uncontrolled at some point."

If so, those concerns are misplaced, believes religious analyst Yunusov. "Secular values are a priority for most of the country's population," he said. But clashes with religious demonstrators could prove a risky response, Yunusov added. "Violence creates a violent response," he said.

Shahin Abbasov is a freelance correspondent based in Baku. He is also a board member of the Open Society Institute-Azerbaijan.


Sign up for Eurasianet's free weekly newsletter. Support Eurasianet: Help keep our journalism open to all, and influenced by none.

https://eurasianet.org/report-azerbaijan-bans-koran-islamic-symbols-in-government-offices

 

[Maarkhoor]

Aliyev once again proves that he is just an offshoot of Lenin's sperms.

Same like Iran where religious bigots forcefully enforce hijab and who refuses got beaten in put in jail and if found virgin got r@ped because as per their doctrine virgins will go to Jannah and they don't want these girls go to Jannah.

 

[atmi_bum]

Strange. Azerbaijan is not only an OIC member but is also hosting its next summit.

 

[muhammed45]

Same like Iran where religious bigots forcefully enforce hijab and who refuses got beaten in put in jail and if found virgin got r@ped because as per their doctrine virgins will go to Jannah and they don't want these girls go to Jannah.

Wtf? You are full of hatred because of an imaginary non sense. You are suffering from mental disorder, i suggest you visit a doctor.

 

[Mighty_Dragon_Strike]

this is doctored and fake

 

[hussain0216]

Respond with the same ruthlessness to others as they do to you

They are targeting Muslims

It's our responsibility to target them back
Show no sympathy or mercy to non-muslims or minorities

When others don't do it for you



It took a long time to get these actions changed in multiple countries

Their are still ex communist Soviet type scum and we should be vengeful against them and get them out of the Muslim world completely

 

[Indos]

Strange. Azerbaijan is not only an OIC member but is also hosting its next summit.

Not really strange at all, many secularist is also radical inside, if they have the power to enforce their will, they will do it

This is why becoming democratic nation can prevent that radical to impose their will.

Radical is acting in extreme way, being extreme is not good, whether extreme left or extreme right. You can check what happened to countries which such extreme mode, what will be the outcome ?

 

[Mighty_Dragon_Strike]

erodagan video, could be fake as well..

 

[hussain0216]

Remember the world has a lot of minorities

From Indonesia to across the world to Morocco,

In a world of extremists
Zionists
Hindutva
White supremacists
Atheists

Being a liberal cucks Muslim is pathetic,,


Embrace the extremism,
Hate others and make sure they suffer and you target their culture and ways

 

[muhammed45]

• Farzaneh Moradi (Case history): A former child bride who was married at 15 and later sentenced to death by hanging in Iran for the murder of her husband, which sparked international human rights campaigns by organizations such as Girls Not Brides and Women Living Under Muslim Laws calling for legal revisions regarding child marriage and juvenile executions. [1]

Farzaneh Moradi was 26 years old and had murdered her husband. According to Iranian and Islamic laws, anyone who kills innocent people will be sentenced to execution.

• Atefeh Rajabi Sahaaleh (2004): A 16-year-old Iranian girl Atefeh Sahaaleh - Wikipedia was publicly hanged from a crane in Neka, Iran, on August 15, 2004, after being convicted of "crimes against chastity" and adultery. The court judged her age as 22 during the trial despite documentation showing she was 16. She was later posthumously pardoned. [1]

Atefe Rajabi aged 22 was seen while seducing a teen boy. Hence executed.

If you think that kissing a small boy is a symbol of rape or something like that not a sign of kindness then you are mentally ill. I till suggest you visit a doctor, because when a father kisses his son, you may think of rape or something similar. You lot are truly sick, pity.

 

[El Sidd]

No comments since Azeris follow different sectarian inclination.

 

[Maarkhoor]

Farzaneh Moradi was 26 years old and had murdered her husband. According to Iranian and Islamic laws, anyone who kills innocent people will be sentenced to execution.


Atefe Rajabi aged 22 was seen while seducing a teen boy. Hence executed.


If you think that kissing a small boy is a symbol of rape or something like that not a sign of kindness then you are mentally ill. I till suggest you visit a doctor, because when a father kisses his son, you may think of rape or something similar. You lot are truly sick, pity.

I think kiss part you like itt since may be got used to it, "Darling"

Who killed who God knows......

We put serious efforts and because of your rough proxy Houthis you are calling us hypocrites now face the music.

 

[Indos]

Remember the world has a lot of minorities

From Indonesia to across the world to Morocco,

In a world of extremists
Zionists
Hindutva
White supremacists
Atheists

Being a liberal cucks Muslim is pathetic,,


Embrace the extremism,
Hate others and make sure they suffer and you target their culture and ways

Hindutva will hurt their own nation, India. The country will be more divided, clever and very capable Muslims will run away instead of developing their own nation because he will hate that nation. Capable Muslims will not be able to utilize its own capability at maximum, it is India that will suffer

Nation should embrace and tolerate diversity to make the nation stronger and united