Azerbaijan warns against “politicizing” hijab: statement
Note: AI technology was used to generate this article’s audio.
The Media and Broadcasting Council of Azerbaijan said that adopting uniform dress code regulations for students and staff at educational institutions is part of efforts to uphold what it called “principles of secular education” and standardize regulatory requirements across the education sector.
In a statement sent to Roya News English, the council said certain parties are “deliberately exploiting” this issue for “political purposes by giving it a religious dimension, removing it from its educational context, and presenting it as a contentious issue affecting religious beliefs and individual freedoms,” according to the statement.
The statement is part of a growing controversy in Azerbaijan over new school uniform rules that have effectively restricted the wearing of the Islamic headscarf, or hijab, in public schools. The dispute has triggered protests, arrests and a public disagreement with Türkiye, one of Azerbaijan’s closest allies.
Azerbaijan amended its school uniform regulations on September 21, barring clothing that violates the prescribed uniform or conflicts with the “secular principles” of education.
The council warned in its statement that this approach could “fuel public debate, deepen social divisions, and create tensions, particularly amid the circulation and amplification of misleading information on social media platforms”.
It also claimed that “identical content” had repeatedly been posted across multiple social media accounts alongside inciting calls.
“The increased intensity and repeated nature of this activity within specific periods suggest the existence of prior coordination behind a campaign seeking to influence public opinion and amplify negative reactions,” it said, claiming that some of the accounts could be “fake” and “operated by a centralized entity based outside” Azerbaijan.
“The Media and Broadcasting Council calls on citizens, media organizations, and social media users in Azerbaijan to exercise caution, verify information before sharing it, and refrain from publishing misleading content,” it concluded.
