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Students at two schools in Azerbaijan have boycotted classes in protest against restrictions on hijab-wearing pupils, while jailed journalist Polad Aslanov has launched a hunger strike over the new school dress rules.
The regulations, adopted by Azerbaijan’s Cabinet of Ministers on September 21, cover school uniforms and teachers’ clothing. The Baku City Education Department has announced plans to monitor their implementation in public schools.
Students and parents have criticised the restrictions, arguing that they undermine the right to education of girls who wear the hijab.
According to reports by Meydan TV and footage shared on social media, students at School No. 69 in Baku and B Shiriyev Secondary School in Mollaoba village of Masally district refused to attend classes. They demanded that their hijab-wearing classmates be allowed to return to school.
Azerbaijan’s Constitution guarantees free and compulsory general secondary education, although it does not explicitly address the right to wear the hijab in schools.
Polad Aslanov, head of the Xeberman news website, began a hunger strike on Thursday to protest the restrictions. His wife, Gulmira Aslanova, announced the move in a Facebook post, saying he was being held at Penitentiary Facility No. 15.
Aslanov said he wanted to draw attention to hijab-wearing students being barred from schools and restrictions on female teachers’ clothing. He also claimed the measures had affected his own child’s right to education.
“I declare that I have begun a hunger strike to defend the rights of my own child and all hijab-wearing students whose right to education is restricted, as well as all hijab-wearing female teachers who are being forced to choose between education and wearing the hijab,” he said.
He added that he had appealed to Allahshukur Pashazadeh, head of the Caucasus Muslims Board, several days earlier but had received no response.
Aslanov argued that the restrictions violated Article 48 of Azerbaijan’s Constitution, which guarantees freedom of conscience.
He was arrested in 2019 on treason charges and initially sentenced to 16 years in prison. His sentence was later reduced to 13 years. He denies the charges and says he is being punished for his journalistic work.
In a separate incident, a hijab-wearing teacher at Richard Sorge Secondary School No. 90 in Baku was reportedly dismissed. Footage published by Meydan TV showed students crying and embracing the teacher.
Source : Al Jazeera