Azerbaijan's ban on the hijab in schools has ignited one of the most heated controversies in the country's recent history, with student boycotts, mass protests, 37 detentions in Baku, and an imprisoned journalist on hunger strike — all over what the government calls a secular school-uniform rule and critics call an attack on religious freedom.
The dispute centers on Cabinet Decision No. 309, adopted on September 21, 2026, which amended the rules for student uniforms in state schools. The decision bans "clothing elements that disrupt the uniformity of the established school uniform" or items that "do not comply with the secular principle of general education." The word "hijab" never appears in the text — but in practice, schools across the country have used the rule to turn away girls wearing headscarves.
What the New Rules Say
The September decision builds on a July 2026 law signed by President Ilham Aliyev that added "nationalism and secularism" to the principles governing general education and set clothing requirements for teachers and students. On October 6, a separate Cabinet decision extended secular dress requirements to public-school teachers, stating that educators' clothing must comply with "the secular nature of education." In early October, the Baku City Education Department announced inspections to check student and teacher compliance.
Context matters here: roughly 96 percent of Azerbaijan's population identifies as Muslim, but the constitution defines the country as secular while also guaranteeing religious freedom. After decades of Soviet rule, Azerbaijan is often described as one of the most secular countries in the Islamic world. A hijab ban in schools has technically been on the books since 2010, but the 2026 decisions tighten and extend it significantly.
Protests, Boycotts and Detentions
Enforcement has been swift — and uneven, since the rules leave application to each school's Pedagogical Council. In late September, girls in hijab were turned away from a school in the Sumgait area near Baku, prompting parent protests. On September 30, an Al Jazeera video report showed female students leaving a secondary school after reportedly being denied entry over headscarves. On October 11, hijab-wearing schoolgirls were turned away at school gates in Celilabad in the country's south.
The backlash has grown into organized resistance. At Baku's School No. 69 in the Balakhani settlement, parents and students protested under the slogan "Hijab is not an obstacle to education!", and hundreds of students staged a mass class boycott in solidarity with veiled classmates. Boycotts were also reported at B. Shiriyev Secondary School in Masalli District. At Richard Sorge Secondary School No. 90 in Baku, a veiled teacher was reportedly dismissed — a viral video showed students hugging her and crying. Teachers in Baku and Sumgayit have been told to remove their hijabs or resign.
On October 12, police detained 37 people in Baku during protests. The Interior Ministry opened a criminal case for gross violation of public order, alleging some participants confronted education staff, damaged schools, and tried to block traffic. Amid the clashes, one school director's car was burned.
The Government's Case
The government frames the rules as a matter of secularism and equality, not religion. State news agency APA says the amendment aims at a unified dress code reflecting the "secular principle," and that teachers' attire must reflect "professional standards" benefiting the school's public reputation. Officials argue the policy preserves the state's secular nature, prohibits religious symbols in education, and reduces social, religious, and ethnic disparities among children.
A pro-government analysis in Azernews compared the school uniform to a military uniform — a matter of discipline and order — and suggested the spread of the hijab is driven by foreign "religious entities" exporting propaganda against Azerbaijani statehood. It quoted a parent at a provincial school where hijab-wearing pupils had become the majority, saying her uncovered daughter was isolated and made to feel morally depraved.
President Aliyev himself warned outsiders not to "interfere with our lifestyle" at a party congress — a veiled rebuke to Türkiye after demonstrations outside Azerbaijan's consulate in Istanbul called on Baku to reconsider.
A Hunger Strike From Prison
The controversy has even reached the country's prisons. Polad Aslanov, an imprisoned journalist serving a lengthy sentence, began a hunger strike on October 8 in Correctional Facility No. 15 to protest the uniform rules, calling it the only means of struggle available to him against what he described as the trampling of constitutional rights.
Teacher Zahra Hasanova told Al Jazeera she was informed she could no longer wear the hijab at school: "The hijab is a personal choice, and if one day I want to take it off, that should be my choice too." A Karabakh war veteran whose daughter was expelled asked on video: "Did I sacrifice my arm for a hijab ban?" Activists cite constitutional articles guaranteeing free education and freedom of conscience, and an international petition addressed to the president and the Cabinet declares: "A girl who wears the hijab is also a daughter of Azerbaijan."
What's Next
The Ministry of Science and Education has issued no statement on concessions, and it remains unclear whether the teacher rules will be clarified or softened under pressure. The key questions: whether boycotts spread beyond Baku, Masalli, Celilabad, and Sumgait; whether the government offers any compromise; and whether a 96-percent-Muslim country can enforce a ban its own citizens increasingly refuse to accept. For now, the school gates remain the front line.
Music in this post's reel: Kevin MacLeod - Hitman (incompetech.com), licensed under CC BY 3.0