The wife of an Azerbaijani activist has been arrested in connection with the protest in defense of the hijab.

A participant in the protests against the restrictions on wearing hijabs in schools, Shahizyar Guseynova, has been arrested for four months, her husband reported.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", school leaders in Azerbaijan have not allowed teachers and schoolgirls who refused to remove their hijabs to attend classes since October 12. Written requests to explain the reasons for the exclusion went unanswered, they said. On October 12, students and teachers held classes on the street near several schools in Baku in protest against the restrictions. On October 13, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan reported the detention of 37 participants in the protests, while activists claimed that more than 200 had been detained.

Activist of the "Muslim Unity" movement, Agha Guseynov, has been searching for his wife since October 13, who was detained by security forces after a protest against the restrictions on wearing hijabs in schools.

Shahizyar Guseynova participated in a protest near school No. 187 in the Mashtaga settlement (Sabunchu district of Baku). The woman protested against the exclusion of her daughter, who wears a hijab, from classes. Agha Guseynov stated that the security forces who detained his wife on the afternoon of October 13 treated her roughly and threatened her in front of their children.

"Can a person be arrested for their beliefs? They claim that we force children to wear hijabs through psychological coercion, while it is obvious that they are the ones inflicting psychological trauma on our children," the activist's words are quoted by Abzas Media.

Only on October 14 did Guseynov find out that his wife had been arrested for four months. "I just spoke with a police officer. He said that Shahizyar Guseynova was arrested and sent to Kurdakhany for four months," he wrote on his social media page.

The activist did not specify under which article the woman was given such a long sentence. He criticized the President of Azerbaijan, emphasizing that his children are now separated from their mother.

The restrictions on wearing hijabs in schools in Azerbaijan may increase tensions between the state and the religious part of society. The actions of the authorities may be related to political concerns — in particular, the desire to prevent the use of religious discontent by external forces, analysts interviewed by "Caucasian Knot" indicated.

The protests due to the exclusion of children and female teachers from classes have become a continuation of a long-standing dispute over religious clothing in schools, according to the "Caucasian Knot" report "Protests over school dress code in Azerbaijan".