Reports about the hijab ban in medical institutions of Azerbaijan have been declared fake.
Azerbaijani authorities denied the information that the ban on wearing hijabs, introduced in schools, extends to medical institutions.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", since October 12, school leaders in Azerbaijan have not allowed teachers and schoolgirls who refused to remove their hijabs to attend classes. Around several schools in Baku, students and teachers held lessons in the street as a sign of protest. On October 13, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported the detention of 37 protest participants, while activists claimed that more than 200 were detained.
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 uniform standard or do not correspond to the secular nature of education. On October 6, the cabinet also approved requirements for the appearance of teachers: now educators are required to adhere to a business style of clothing, "corresponding to the principle of the secular nature of education." The reform aims to completely eliminate religious, ethnic, and socio-economic differences in educational institutions, the authorities explained.
A joint statement from the Ministry of Health and the Council for Media and Broadcasting of Azerbaijan was published last night by the Report agency.
Authorities explained that a letter purportedly from the Ministry of Health is circulating on social networks and messengers, stating that restrictions on wearing hijabs in medical institutions have been introduced.
"We inform you that the mentioned letter is fake. The Ministry of Health has not approved such a document, and no instructions of this nature have been given to medical institutions. Issuing a fake document as genuine official correspondence is disinformation that misleads the public," the statement said.
In turn, the Council for Media and Broadcasting urged internet users to "verify the authenticity of information based on official sources," not to spread the fake document as if it were genuine, "and not to become a tool for spreading disinformation," the publication stated.
Hijab is clothing worn by a Muslim woman that covers the body except for the face and hands. Wearing a hijab is mandatory for a Muslim woman. In the modern world, hijab is most often understood as just an Islamic women's headscarf.
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 the "Caucasian Knot" indicated.
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".