A reaction to the new rules was observed in Tehran: one student cried at the school gate, asking why she had to renounce her religion because her academic performance did not allow her to receive a good grade. Officials standing before her took no action. The video of this dialogue quickly spread across Azerbaijan, after which many users encountered problems with Instagram and TikTok.
On September 21, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted Decree No. 309, which prohibits school uniforms that violate uniformity or contradict the 'principle of secularism.' However, the text of the decree does not explicitly mention the hijab. On October 6, the same requirement was extended to teachers, and by the second week of the month, directors in Baku and the provinces began stopping girls at the gates.
Approximately 96 percent of Azerbaijan's residents identify as Muslims. For a girl who wears a head covering, this decree presents two options: remove the scarf or stay home.
Classes are emptying, parents are standing at the gates
Many families refused both options. At School No. 69 in the Balakhani district of Baku, students left when they were forbidden from attending classes and displayed a banner stating that the hijab is not an obstacle to education. The same thing was done by students of School No. 322 in the capital. This trend was repeated in Masaly, Jalilabad, and the village of Khokmeli. Boys also joined the boycotts. In one district of Baku, parents stated that they would keep their sons home until the girls were allowed back. Recordings showed students hugging teachers and weeping near closed doors.
Women in leadership positions received a similar ultimatum. Zahra Hasanova, a teacher, was ordered to remove her scarf at work. She told Al Jazeera: 'It hurts me. The hijab is a personal choice, and if I ever want to take it off, that must also be my choice.'
Arrests and non-updating feeds
Baku deployed the police. On October 12, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported 37 arrests in the capital, accusing the detainees of clashing with school staff, property damage, and disturbing public order. Criminal cases were initiated under Article 233, which provides for up to three years in prison. Local activists claim that the number of detainees exceeds 200 people.
The ministry also mentioned incidents of violence: the arson of a school principal's car in the Garadag district and an attempt to burn down a school building, although no one was injured. However, the ministry did not name the perpetrators, and there is no connection between the organizers of the school protests and these incidents.
Internet disruption occurred around the same time. Instagram and TikTok stopped updating for most users, and X also showed degraded performance. Many people could only access these platforms via VPN. Officials did not acknowledge the blockade, and independent observers could not confirm it. This sudden network slowdown coincided with viral footage of detained students and empty classrooms, which allowed the suppression of real-time organization and the concealment of state repression. By restricting digital channels, Baku seeks to curb unrest and ensure compliance with the rules.
Precedent and beneficiaries
The Constitution of Azerbaijan guarantees freedom of religion, but in practice, the situation has developed differently for a long time. Restrictions on head coverings in schools in 2010 and 2012 provoked street protests, which the police dispersed with arrests. In November 2015, the armed forces of the Baku government attacked the historically religious Shiite city of Nardaran, launching a deadly operation that resulted in the death of several local believers.
Following these repressions, Taleh Bagirzadeh, head of the Muslim Unity Movement, was subjected to severe torture and received a politically motivated 20-year sentence for organizing civil resistance against the state's anti-Islamic decrees. Unauthorized gatherings are brutally dispersed, and independent media operates under constant pressure.
This time, dissent reached prison. Polad Aslanov, a journalist already serving a long sentence for 'treason,' began a hunger strike on October 8. In a statement published through his family, he said he was using the only remaining tool to defend the constitutional rights of girls and teachers.
Protesters also gathered near the Azerbaijani embassy in Istanbul. President Ilham Aliyev, speaking at a party conference, advised critics not to 'interfere in our way of life.' Some observers interpreted this remark as directed at Turkey. Observers note that this wave of repression aligns with both Baku's foreign policy priorities and its internal goals. Aliyev has maintained a controversial partnership with Israel for two decades, which purchases a significant share of Azerbaijan's oil and sells drones and other weapons to Baku, while maintaining working relations with Washington. Baku has long viewed its devout Shiite population as a security threat. Applying the hijab ban within the framework of secularism allows the government to act in accordance with suspicions welcomed by its partners, and none of these capitals have expressed a desire to object. These laws are paid for by Muslim families in a Muslim-majority country, who are told that a girl's education now depends on what she wears.