New dress code rules in Azerbaijan\u2019s schools have become a source of tension in relations between Baku and Ankara, following reports that hijab-wearing students were barred from entry and female teachers came under pressure.<\/p>\n
According to reports, Azerbaijan\u2019s government issued Decree No. 309 on Sept. 21, 2026, setting out a new framework for school uniforms. The decree bans clothing that would \u201cdisrupt the uniformity of the school uniform or conflict with the principle of secularism,\u201d although it does not specifically mention the hijab.<\/p>\n
Enforcement of the rules in some schools reportedly prevented a number of hijab-wearing girls from entering. Published images from the city of Sumqayit showed schoolgirls standing outside the school in tears and confusion.<\/p>\n
A few days later, Decree No. 325 imposed similar restrictions on teachers. Media reports said some hijab-wearing female teachers were barred from teaching or pressured to change their clothing.<\/p>\n
The issue triggered widespread reaction in Turkey, with conservative media, secular newspapers and several Turkish opposition figures criticising the Baku regulations. The newspaper Sozcu called the move a \u201cban on the hijab in the brother country,\u201d Karar reported that schoolgirls had been prevented from entering, and Milli Gazete described it as \u201coppression in Azerbaijan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some analysts in Turkey have compared the new restrictions with the country\u2019s Feb. 28, 1997 crisis, a period when thousands of hijab-wearing women were barred from universities and educational institutions, and \u201cpersuasion rooms\u201d became a symbol of pressure on women.<\/p>\n
Turkey\u2019s Association for the Freedom of Thought and the Right to Education also staged a rally on Oct. 3 outside Azerbaijan\u2019s consulate in Istanbul. Protesters chanted slogans including \u201cNo to the hijab ban in the Republic of Azerbaijan\u201d and \u201cDo not let Feb. 28 reach Azerbaijan.\u201d<\/p>\n
In response, Azerbaijan\u2019s ruling party accused media outlets and political circles close to the Turkish government of launching an \u201corganised disinformation campaign\u201d against the country\u2019s institutions and Ilham Aliyev. The party said Azerbaijan is a secular state whose constitution guarantees freedom of belief, and that its education regulations are based on equality and the rule of law.<\/p>\n
Baku urged Ankara to show restraint on the issue and warned that continued criticism could damage bilateral ties. Turkey and Azerbaijan have close relations in security, energy and regional cooperation, and rising tensions between them could affect their interactions in the South Caucasus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Azerbaijan’s school dress restrictions spark tensions with Turkey after reports of hijab-wearing students and teachers facing pressure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23949,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-important-news","category-international"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atlaspress.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atlaspress.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atlaspress.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atlaspress.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atlaspress.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23950"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/atlaspress.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23950\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atlaspress.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atlaspress.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atlaspress.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atlaspress.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}