Mass Protests Held in Azerbaijan Against the Ban on Hijabs in Schools

News:

Protests were held in Baku and other cities of Azerbaijan against new school uniform regulations that prohibit wearing the hijab to school. Azerbaijan's Ministry of Internal Affairs reported the detention of 37 people, according to Radio Liberty's Azerbaijani Service.

On September 21, the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan officially introduced amendments to the regulations concerning school uniforms in public schools. The Cabinet's decision prohibits "additional items of clothing that violate the uniform requirements for school uniforms and contradict the principle of secular education."

In early October, complaints began coming in from residents of Baku and the regions that some schools were refusing to allow both female students and female teachers wearing the hijab — the Muslim women's headscarf — to attend classes.

Notably, the students themselves and their parents initiated the protests, and many are boycotting classes at schools. Schoolboys are expressing solidarity with their female classmates who wish to wear the hijab, JAMnews reports. Hundreds of people have joined the protests, including teachers, public figures and religious figures. They state that refusing to allow female students wearing hijabs to attend classes violates children's right to education. Protesters are smashing windows in schools that prohibit the wearing of religious clothing. According to the Telegram channel Minval Politika, protesters set fire to the car of a school principal in Baku's Garadagh district. In the Yasamal district, demonstrators attempted to start a fire in one of the schools, but the fire was prevented.

Azerbaijan's internal affairs authorities have initiated criminal proceedings against those detained for organized violations of public order.

Comment:

Let us recall that the Aliyev regime's previous attempt to ban the hijab in schools in 2010–2011 provoked such a strong reaction that the authorities were forced to retreat. Apparently, this was merely a tactical retreat in order to choose a more convenient moment.

Many are wondering why the Azerbaijani authorities initiated such an unpopular law, the adoption of which also resulted in a conflict with Turkey, with which Azerbaijan has a highly interdependent relationship. In fact, there is nothing surprising about this, since the struggle against Islam is the foundation of every state established after the collapse of the USSR. And therefore, among the post-Soviet Muslim countries, almost all have long been practicing a similar ban:

- Kazakhstan: The hijab is prohibited as an element of religious clothing in school uniforms;

- Uzbekistan: The religious hijab is prohibited, but certain traditional national head coverings (skullcaps) are permitted;

- Tajikistan: The hijab is prohibited in schools and universities. Restrictions on religious clothing are also in force outside these institutions;

- Turkmenistan: Strict dress requirements are in force; the Islamic hijab is not permitted in schools.

And only in Kyrgyzstan is there no nationwide ban on the ordinary hijab in schools, but even here there is no guarantee that this situation will last long — the Japarov regime is rapidly tightening the screws in the country.