Residents of Azerbaijan faced problems accessing social networks against the backdrop of the hijab ban.

Students in hijabs were not allowed to attend classes in several schools in Baku, after which students held protests, including conducting classes in the street. Azerbaijani users faced issues accessing Instagram* and TikTok against this backdrop, and a local activist suggested that the restrictions might be related to the spread of calls for protests against the hijab ban.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on October 10, it became known that students from a school in a suburban settlement of Baku protested against the tightening of dress code requirements after reports of girls in hijabs being denied access to classes. Imprisoned journalist Polad Aslanov announced a hunger strike in this context, stating that the rights of schoolgirls and female teachers wearing hijabs were being violated.

This morning, residents of Azerbaijan experienced problems accessing social networks Instagram* and TikTok. Initially, the feed on Instagram* stopped updating, profiles and posts would not open, and then the platform became completely unavailable. In TikTok, there were initially difficulties with uploading videos and opening accounts, after which the platform also stopped opening, Azerbaijani social media users told a correspondent from "Caucasian Knot".

Monitoring services did not record any global failures in the operation of both platforms, and there was no official information from the Azerbaijani authorities about the introduction of internet restrictions, Meydan TV noted today.

"There are also suggestions in social networks that the restrictions may be related to the spread of numerous videos on the topic of hijabs in recent days. However, there are no official statements confirming this version," the publication noted.

The restriction of access to social networks may also be related to calls for protests against the ban on wearing hijabs in schools, suggested a Baku activist.

"The ban on wearing hijabs in schools has been actively discussed in social networks in recent days. Instagram* and TikTok are resources where much video content on this topic is circulated. There are calls through social networks for protests in different parts of Baku. At the same time, many are calling for this from abroad, and law enforcement cannot identify these users and take action against them," he told a correspondent from "Caucasian Knot" on condition of anonymity.

Today, students in hijabs were not allowed to attend classes in several schools in Baku. In some cases, schoolgirls sat in front of schools in protest, opened their textbooks, and began studying outdoors, reported rights defender Arzu Abdulla on her Facebook* page, whose post was translated by a correspondent from "Caucasian Knot".

She published photographs of one such protest at school No. 90 in Baku. To another post, the activist attached a video showing a teacher in a hijab conducting a lesson for children outside near school No. 78.

Students from school No. 130 in the settlement of Nardaran held a protest in front of the educational institution against the denial of access to classes for schoolgirls in hijabs. A similar protest took place at school No. 182 in the Binagadi district of Baku, Arzu Abdulla also reported. In another video she published, children near school No. 284 in the Baladjary settlement are chanting "Freedom to the hijab".