19:57, 4 November 2026

A resident of Baku was arrested after protesting against the school dress code.

The court in Baku sentenced Shahin Abdulov to 15 days of arrest for speaking out on social media against the ban on wearing hijabs in schools.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", by October 30, mass protests against the ban on wearing hijabs in schools had ceased in Azerbaijan, but discontent is expressed in the form of individual actions near school buildings. According to activists and human rights defenders, participants in the protests and their relatives face detentions, police summons, and other forms of pressure.

Since October 12, teachers and female students who refused to remove hijabs have not been allowed to attend classes in Azerbaijani schools. Around several schools in Baku, students and teachers held lessons outside in protest. On October 13, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported the detention of 37 protest participants, while activists counted more than 200 detained. The protests are a continuation of a long-standing dispute over religious clothing in schools, according to a report by "Caucasian Knot" "Protests over the school dress code in Azerbaijan".

A resident of the Sabunchu district of Baku, Shahin Abdulov, born in 2001, was sentenced to 15 days of administrative arrest due to a Facebook* post in which he spoke out against the ban on wearing hijabs, Meydan TV reports today on its website.

According to relatives, the decision was made by the Sabunchu District Court on November 3. However, the family does not know under which specific article of the Code of Administrative Offenses Shahin Abdulov was convicted, the publication states.

It should be noted that in September, the Azerbaijani government made changes to the rules regulating the appearance of students in public schools. Now, students are prohibited from wearing clothing items that violate the unified dress code or do not correspond to the secular nature of education.

On October 6, the Cabinet of Ministers approved similar requirements for the appearance of teachers. The texts of the relevant resolutions were published on "Caucasian Knot".

The authorities stated that the reform aims to completely eliminate religious, ethnic, and socio-economic differences in educational institutions. Restrictions on wearing hijabs may increase tensions between the state and the religious part of society. The actions of the authorities are possibly related to political concerns - in particular, the desire to prevent the use of religious discontent by external forces, analysts interviewed by "Caucasian Knot" indicated.

News on this topic has been gathered by "Caucasian Knot" on the page "Hijab as a challenge to the regime: the confrontation between believers and the authorities of Azerbaijan. Who are considered radicals in Baku".

Translated automatically via OpenAI from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/428064