Videos circulating on social media show students gathering outside schools in Baku and other districts, refusing to attend lessons in solidarity with classmates wearing hijabs. Demonstrations have been reported at School No. 322 and School No. 69 in Baku, as well as schools in the Masally and Jalilabad districts. In Khokhmeli, parents have threatened to withdraw their sons from school in protest against the restrictions affecting girls.
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The confrontations have also affected teachers. Zahra Hasanova, a teacher who said she had been told she could no longer wear a hijab at school, told Al Jazeera: “To be honest, I am a little emotional. I am hurt.” She added: “(The hijab) is a personal choice, and if one day I want to take it off, that should be my choice too.”
At the centre of the dispute is Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 309, adopted on September 21, which prohibits additional clothing that violates school uniform requirements or contradicts the principle of secular education. Although the resolution does not explicitly name the hijab, its practical implementation has led to restrictions on headscarves in some schools.
Authorities say the measure is intended to establish a uniform dress code consistent with Azerbaijan’s secular system. The state-run Azerbaijani Press Agency has defended the requirements on those grounds. However, the absence of an explicit hijab ban in the text, alongside reports of students being denied entry to classrooms, raises questions about the legal basis for excluding children from education over their clothing.
The dispute is particularly sensitive in a country where about 96 percent of the population identifies as Muslim. Azerbaijan’s Constitution defines the state as secular while guaranteeing religious freedom, placing the authorities under scrutiny over how they reconcile school regulations with individual rights.
The government’s response has extended beyond school inspections. On October 9, the Baku City Education Department announced checks on compliance with clothing requirements. Three days later, the Interior Ministry said 37 people had been detained in connection with incidents surrounding the enforcement of school uniform rules.
The ministry alleged that the detainees had provoked confrontations with education workers, damaged educational institutions and attempted to disrupt school operations and traffic. A criminal case was opened under Article 233 of the Criminal Code, concerning the organisation of actions that disrupt public order or active participation in them. However, the ministry’s statement did not identify the alleged acts of each detainee or disclose their names and ages, leaving unanswered questions about whether minors were among those detained and how peaceful protest was distinguished from alleged criminal conduct.
Meanwhile, imprisoned journalist Polad Aslanov announced a hunger strike against the new requirements, describing them as a violation of constitutional rights in a message published on Facebook by his wife, Gulmira Aslanova.
The controversy has also crossed Azerbaijan’s borders. Demonstrators gathered outside Azerbaijan’s consulate in Istanbul, drawing comparisons with Turkiye’s 1997 restrictions on women wearing headscarves. President Ilham Aliyev subsequently warned against outside interference in Azerbaijan’s lifestyle without directly naming Turkiye.