In brief
Azerbaijan’s education ministry started enforcing a uniform rule that implicitly bans hijabs, leading students, parents and activists to protest in Baku and nearby districts. The crackdown has seen 37 people detained and social media blocked, while voices in Turkey criticize the ban as a threat to cultural freedom. Amid tension over religious practice, the dispute also echoes deeper geopolitical rifts involving Iran, Israel and the US.
A Baku showdown! The Azerbaijani education ministry rolled out rules last week that forbid clothing “contradicting secularism” – effectively banning hijabs from school.
Students and parents were caught off guard when school staff turned them away for wearing headscarves. A viral clip shows a teenage girl shouting, “Why should I give up my religion?” as a line of classmates shouted back support.
The backlash turned into protests outside Baku schools and in southern districts like Masally and Jalilabad. The government has detained 37 people that Monday after they tried to block the new rules.
Azerbaijan is officially secular, but more than 60% of its population are Shia Muslims. That religious backdrop fuels the controversy, especially given the country’s close tie to Turkey – whose president is a devoted Muslim.
In Ankara, Turkish MPs and Islamist groups staged small demonstrations outside the Azerbaijani embassy, calling the restrictions “unacceptable.” Turkish advisers urged Ankara to pressure Baku, warning the ban could hurt relations between the two Turkic neighbors.
The row has also smelled of geopolitics: Azerbaijan maintains arms deals with Israel while keeping a strategic partnership with Iran. Turkish protestors linked the hijab ban to Azerbaijan’s ties with Israel.
Across Baku, social media has been hampered – Instagram and TikTok seem blocked without a VPN. Meanwhile, an activist who opened a free‑online tutoring site for barred girls has gone missing, raising fears of further crackdowns.
In the end, the controversy highlights a younger generation’s push for personal choice squaring off with a government keen to maintain strict secular identity, while neighbors watch closely for any ripple that could reshape the region.
