Azerbaijan's ruling party rebukes Erdogan adviser as school hijab dispute sparks protests and arrests

School exclusions become a dispute between allies

Azerbaijan's ruling New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) has rebuked Turkish presidential adviser Oktay Saral and lawmakers from Turkey's governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) over criticism of school clothing restrictions, after Azerbaijan's Interior Ministry announced 37 arrests linked to incidents surrounding enforcement of uniform rules.

At the center of the controversy are Cabinet of Ministers Decision No. 309, adopted on September 21, and Decision No. 325, adopted on October 6. They regulate clothing for public school students and teachers respectively. Neither explicitly names the hijab, the headscarf worn by some Muslim women, yet some schools have reportedly used the requirements to exclude girls wearing it and instruct teachers to remove their headscarves.

The YAP response goes beyond defending school uniforms. It accuses Turkish political figures of interfering in Azerbaijan's internal affairs, rejects criticism of Baku's relations with Israel, and argues that close ties between the two countries do not give either state authority over the other's domestic policies.

Reports date the party's statement to October 13, while another account describes its publication as Tuesday. That discrepancy does not change the substance of the response: the YAP called Saral's intervention and remarks by AKP lawmakers irresponsible and urged Turkish officials to respect Azerbaijan's sovereignty.

The dispute connects three distinct issues: whether schools can exclude children over religious clothing, how secular education should operate alongside constitutional rights, and where political solidarity between Azerbaijan and Turkey ends. The number of students and teachers affected has not been established.

What the clothing decisions actually require

Decision No. 309 amended student uniform requirements originally approved under Cabinet Decision No. 96 of March 17, 2022. The changes prohibit additional clothing that disrupts the prescribed uniform or conflicts with the secular principle of general education. Prime Minister Ali Asadov signed the amendment, which also places responsibility on parents to ensure their children comply.

Decision No. 325 separately introduced clothing requirements for teachers, including professional attire suitable for a secular educational setting. Reports describe the government's stated aims as maintaining neatness, consistent standards and an orderly school environment.

The distinction between the wording and its implementation is central. A regulation need not name a religious garment to restrict it in practice. Reports of girls being refused access to classrooms concern how administrators interpret the rules, rather than an explicit provision stating that hijabs are prohibited.

The student rules also reportedly allow clothing reflecting Azerbaijan's history, culture, and national and moral values during celebrations, subject to approval by the relevant Pedagogical Council. That exception shows the requirements are not an absolute prohibition on every departure from the standard uniform, although it does not establish permission for everyday religious clothing.

How the dispute developed

The controversy escalated through a succession of regulatory decisions, reports of school exclusions, compliance checks and arrests. The dates help distinguish the introduction of the rules from the later enforcement response.

• September 21: The Cabinet of Ministers adopted Decision No. 309, amending student uniform requirements.
• September 23: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed discrimination against Muslim women in his United Nations General Assembly speech, without naming Azerbaijan.
• October 6: Decision No. 325 introduced dress requirements for teachers.
• October 8: Teachers in several Sumgayit schools reportedly said they had been instructed to remove their headscarves or submit resignation letters.
• October 9: The Baku City Education Department announced monitoring of compliance with clothing requirements.
• October 12: The Interior Ministry announced 37 arrests connected to incidents over school uniform enforcement.
• October 13: Reports dated the YAP response to criticism by Saral and AKP lawmakers, although another account described publication as Tuesday.

The Baku City Education Department said the checks were intended to establish a disciplined, orderly and equal educational environment. It assigned school administrations responsibility for overseeing compliance and parents responsibility for sending students to school in the required uniforms.

Students and teachers face immediate consequences

Protests were reported outside Baku's School No. 322 and School No. 69, as well as in the Masalli and Jalilabad districts. Students at at least two schools reportedly boycotted classes in solidarity with classmates wearing hijabs. In Khokhmeli, parents threatened to withdraw their sons from school over restrictions affecting girls.

Videos circulating online were described as showing students gathering outside schools, crying or embracing teachers after being turned away. Other footage reportedly showed teachers and students holding lessons outside school buildings. These accounts describe disruption at particular schools, but do not establish the scale of exclusions across Azerbaijan.

Teachers face a separate potential consequence: losing their employment if administrators insist that headscarves conflict with the new requirements. The reports from Sumgayit relied on teachers who requested anonymity. There is no confirmed total of teachers dismissed or students permanently removed from enrollment.

Zahra Hasanova, a teacher who said she had been told she could no longer wear a hijab at school, described the emotional effect of the instruction:

To be honest, I am a little emotional. I am hurt.

Hasanova also said the decision about removing the headscarf should belong to her:

If one day I want to take it off, that should be my choice too.

What authorities allege about the 37 arrests

The Interior Ministry said those arrested had been involved in confrontations with education workers, damage to educational facilities and disruption of public order. Accounts of the ministry's allegations also mention obstruction of traffic and interference with normal school operations.

A criminal case was opened under Article 233 of Azerbaijan's Criminal Code, concerning the organization of actions that disrupt public order or active participation in them. The announcement moves the controversy beyond school discipline into criminal investigation.

Reports differ in their terminology, describing the 37 people as arrested or detained. One account places the arrests in Baku; others describe incidents connected to uniform enforcement without specifying the location of every detention. These accounts do not establish each person's subsequent legal status.

The ministry's allegations have not been independently verified. Authorities have not publicly provided the names and ages of all those involved or described each person's alleged conduct. It is therefore unclear whether minors were among them, how many faced individual charges, or how police distinguished peaceful protest from alleged criminal behavior.

Secular education and constitutional rights

Azerbaijan's Constitution contains provisions relevant to both sides of the dispute. Article 18 separates religion from the state and requires the state education system to be secular. Article 48 protects freedom of conscience and religious practice. Article 42 guarantees the right to education.

Secular education means that public schooling operates independently of religious authority. The immediate disagreement is whether that principle requires restrictions on an individual's religious clothing, particularly when enforcing those restrictions prevents a student from entering a classroom.

The YAP says the education rules rest on equality, secularism, the rule of law and equal opportunities. Critics focus on their practical effect: access to lessons reportedly becoming conditional on removing a headscarf. A stated aim of equal treatment does not, by itself, settle whether the way a rule is applied protects the rights of those affected.

Around 96 percent of Azerbaijan's population reportedly identifies as Muslim. That figure helps explain the sensitivity of the controversy, but religious identity does not determine the country's constitutional structure or show how many people wear hijabs. It cannot be used to calculate the number affected by the school requirements.

Political analyst Azer Garayev defended uniform enforcement as a means of reducing visible social differences and maintaining common standards. He argued that presenting the rules automatically as an attack on religion misrepresents their purpose. He also urged investigation of possible manipulation of children and involvement by radical groups. Those concerns remain allegations, not established explanations for all protests.

Saral's criticism draws a forceful response

Saral, a chief adviser to Erdogan, argued in a social media post that excluding students because they cover their heads violates their right to education. His remarks directly challenged the justification for turning girls away at school gates:

How can it be morally or legally justified to turn away a student at the school gate because she covers her head for religious reasons? The hijab is not an obstacle; it is a requirement of faith! The right to education must not be sacrificed to ideological impositions!

He called on Azerbaijan to reverse the approach rather than place obstacles in young people's futures. The YAP treated his intervention as part of a broader campaign, saying it had previously exercised restraint to protect relations between the countries but now needed to respond because senior Turkish political figures had joined it.

The party accused Saral and AKP lawmakers of making populist and irresponsible statements without considering Azerbaijan's constitutional order. It also argued that both Azerbaijan's and Turkey's constitutions establish secular states, and called on the AKP government to stop using the headscarf issue as political pressure.

Erdogan's September speech to the UN General Assembly had described restrictions on wearing hijabs in schools as an attack on women's fundamental rights and connected them to Islamophobia. He did not name Azerbaijan. Treating that speech as a direct reference to Baku is therefore an interpretation, unlike Saral's explicit criticism of Azerbaijan.

Why Israel and Palestine entered the statement

The YAP's response addresses criticism of Azerbaijan's relations with Israel alongside the school dispute. The party described those ties as normal interstate relations based on international law and mutual interests, rejecting attempts to portray them as exceptional grounds for accusations against Baku.

It then set out Azerbaijan's position on Palestine: support for Palestinian statehood under relevant UN resolutions, with East Jerusalem as the capital, alongside Israel. It said Azerbaijan had provided financial and humanitarian assistance to Palestinians and financially supported the Palestinian embassy in Azerbaijan.

The statement named Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa as visitors to Azerbaijan. It also cited the planned hosting of the next Organisation of Islamic Cooperation summit in Azerbaijan in 2027 as evidence of the country's standing among Muslim states.

These points explain the breadth of the party's rebuttal. The YAP was answering accusations about Azerbaijan's relationship with the Islamic world as well as criticism of school clothing enforcement. Its diplomatic record, however, does not resolve the separate question of whether particular students or teachers can attend school wearing hijabs.

Solidarity abroad and warnings against interference

Demonstrators also gathered outside Azerbaijan's consulate in Istanbul. Azerbaijan's parliamentary working group on relations with Turkey issued its own statement, objecting to accusations by Saral and AKP lawmakers and expressing concern about demonstrations outside Azerbaijani diplomatic missions. It accused the AKP of failing to prevent provocative actions.

Both the working group and the YAP invoked Heydar Aliyev's principle of one nation, two states. Their argument was that the phrase describes close ties between two independent countries, not permission for one to impose its political or ideological preferences on the other.

President Ilham Aliyev also warned against outside interference in Azerbaijan's way of life without directly naming Turkey. Sheikhulislam Allahshukur Pashazade, chairman of the Caucasus Muslims Office, similarly accused foreign forces of stirring tensions. He urged worshippers to be patient, pointed out that the Cabinet decision does not mention hijab, and cited mosque restoration and state assistance to believers in rejecting claims of pressure on Muslims.

Another response came from imprisoned journalist Polad Aslanov, who announced a hunger strike against the requirements in a message shared by his wife, Gulmira Aslanova. Separately, users reported difficulty accessing Instagram and TikTok. A nationwide shutdown has not been confirmed, and a direct connection between those access problems and the protests has not been established.

No confirmed date has been announced for a revision of the rules, a court determination of their application to hijabs, or hearings involving those arrested. The immediate unresolved issues are the scale of exclusions, the employment position of affected teachers and the legal status of the 37 people. The planned 2027 Islamic cooperation summit is a future diplomatic event, not a deadline for resolving the school dispute.

Key Points

• Student and teacher clothing decisions adopted on September 21 and October 6 do not explicitly name the hijab.
• Some schools reportedly excluded girls wearing hijabs or told teachers to remove their headscarves.
• The Interior Ministry announced 37 arrests and a criminal case under Article 233; its allegations remain unverified.
• The YAP rebuked Erdogan adviser Oktay Saral and AKP lawmakers, framing their criticism as interference in Azerbaijan's internal affairs.
• Azerbaijan's Constitution requires secular state education while protecting religious freedom and the right to education.
• The number of affected students and teachers, and the individual legal outcomes of the arrests, remain unclear.