A video from School No. 6 in Sumgait showing several schoolgirls leaving the building was widely circulated on social media on 29 September. The footage shows girls wearing headscarves in accordance with Muslim religious practice, some of them crying. Azerbaijani media reported that the girls were prevented from attending classes because they were wearing headscarves.

The video emerged a week after Azerbaijan’s Cabinet of Ministers amended the rules governing school uniforms. A decision adopted on 21 September prohibits pupils from wearing items of clothing that undermine the uniformity of the prescribed school uniform or “do not comply with the principle of secularism in general education”.

The decision does not explicitly mention the hijab or headscarves. Nor does it contain a separate list of religious clothing prohibited in schools. Responsibility for ensuring compliance with school-uniform requirements is assigned to the pedagogical council of each school. Parents, in turn, are required to ensure that their children comply with the established rules.

The regulations provide an exception for national dress. It may be worn at events dedicated to Azerbaijan’s history, culture and national and spiritual values, provided that the school’s pedagogical council approves it.

Following the publication of the decision, several Azerbaijani and international media outlets linked the reference to the “principle of secularism” to a possible restriction on the wearing of hijabs. The incident at School No. 6 in Sumgait has become one of the first publicly discussed examples of the new requirements being applied to schoolgirls wearing headscarves. The decision itself contains no official clarification as to whether the new rules apply specifically to the hijab.

The changes followed amendments to the Law on General Education adopted in July. The revised legislation explicitly lists nationality and secularism among the principles of general education, while pupils and teaching staff at state schools are required to comply with clothing regulations.

Amid the reported de facto ban on religious clothing in Azerbaijani schools, social media users recalled a recent statement by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Islamophobia. Referring to European institutions, Aliyev said: “The European Parliament consists precisely of such Islamophobes, and this should constantly remain in the centre of attention.”

He also said: “An undeclared war is being waged against our religion, against the Islamic world, and Islamophobia is merely a small component of it.”