The relatives of journalist Aslanov faced pressure due to the school dress code.
The 13-year-old daughter of the imprisoned Baku journalist Polad Aslanov refused to comply with the ban on wearing a hijab at school despite pressure from teachers. Authorities threatened her mother with imprisonment for supporting protests against the school dress code.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on October 8, the imprisoned editor-in-chief of the online publications Xeberman.com and Press-az.com, Polad Aslanov, declared a hunger strike in colony No. 15 in protest against the violation of the rights of schoolgirls, including his daughter, and female teachers wearing hijabs. He believes that the dress code restrictions violate Article 48 of the Constitution of Azerbaijan, which guarantees freedom of conscience. The journalist noted that a few days ago he sent an open letter to the chairman of the Caucasian Muslims Office, Allahshukur Pashazade, but received no response.
On November 16, 2020, the court sentenced Polad Aslanov to 16 years in prison, finding him guilty of treason. The journalist's appeal was not granted, and the cassation court reduced his sentence by three years, to 13 years in prison. The imprisoned man's wife believes that her husband is being persecuted for covering human rights violations and the cases of political prisoners. International journalist organizations called on the Azerbaijani authorities to release Aslanov.
Polad Aslanov resumed his hunger strike after a pause
Relatives have not been in contact with Polad Aslanov for the last three days; he declared a hunger strike in the colony on October 8, reported his wife, Gülmira Aslanova, to the correspondent of "Caucasian Knot" on October 15.
An official told Polad that the issue with the hijab was resolved, the restrictions were lifted, and my husband stopped the hunger strike.
"Polad declared a hunger strike on October 8 in protest against the restrictions on hijabs in schools, and another believer, Bayram Zeynalov, also began a hunger strike with him. The last time we had contact with him was on October 12. Polad called and said that the day before he had a Ministry of Justice employee named [...]. The official told Polad that the issue with the hijab was resolved, the restrictions were lifted, and my husband stopped the hunger strike. That’s why he was allowed to call. But when I told him that nothing had been lifted, that children and teachers in hijabs were not allowed in schools, Polad said he was resuming the hunger strike. Since then, I have had no information about him," she said.
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 classes outside in 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.
Schoolgirls faced demands to remove their headscarves
A woman reported that on October 12, her 13-year-old daughter was not allowed to attend classes at school No. 178 in the Narimanov district of Baku, where she is in the seventh grade.
Children were pressured to remove their hijabs.
"At the beginning of classes, Fatima was taken out of the classroom and isolated with eight other students in hijabs from other classes in one of the school’s rooms. I was informed by her classmates, who shouted from the classroom window, that Fatima had been taken from the lesson. For 25 minutes, the school leaders did not tell me where my child was being held. I called the hotline of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and stated that my child had been kidnapped in the school building. [...] I insisted that I be allowed to see my child. As it turned out, for 25 minutes, the children were pressured to remove their hijabs. But no one complied with this demand," Gülmira Aslanova said.
The police were called to the school, she added. "My daughter and I were taken to the 17th precinct of the Narimanov district police department in Baku. But when we were brought there, the police received an order over the radio to return us to the place from which we were taken," noted the journalist's wife.
Hijab is a garment worn by Muslim women that covers the body except for the face and hands. Wearing a hijab is mandatory for a Muslim woman. In the modern world, the hijab is most often understood as just an Islamic women's headscarf.
The journalist's wife was threatened with criminal prosecution for supporting protests
According to Aslanova, the next day, October 13, her daughter was again not allowed to attend school, and children in hijabs began reading textbooks while sitting on a carpet spread on the asphalt in the schoolyard. On October 14, Gülmira Aslanova was summoned to the police.
"They were looking for me at home, wanted to detain me, but we were not at home. Then I was informed that I had to come to the police. My daughter, lawyer, and I went to the Narimanov district police department. There, I was told that I was involved in a criminal case initiated under Article 233 (violation of public order). I was offered to give testimony first as a witness. My lawyer told them that if they were going to charge me, then they should interrogate me immediately as an accused. Because testimony given as a witness could later be used against me. After that, the police stated that if I signed an obligation not to come to the school anymore, not to spread a carpet there, not to create conditions for children in hijabs to gather there, I would remain a witness. Otherwise, I faced arrest," Gülmira Aslanova said.
My daughter said in the police that if she was forced to remove her hijab, she would commit suicide.
She reported that "she signed the obligation because she chose her daughter." "The child has already experienced stress from what is happening. She has been wearing a hijab for five years, and it does not interfere with her studies; she is an excellent student, and her teachers love her. My daughter said in the police that if she was forced to remove her hijab, she would commit suicide. I am afraid for my child," Gülmira Aslanova said. According to her, not only her daughter but also other believing students at this school refuse to remove their hijabs.
The woman stated that she expects the state to find a solution to this issue. "We want compliance with the constitutional norms on freedom of religion and the right to education," Gülmira Aslanova explained.
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 elements that violate the unified dress code 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 must 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. Although the official statement does not mention the hijab, it is implied as clothing that "does not correspond to the secular nature of education," particularly noted by the rights defender of believers, Arzu Abdulla.
The head of the Muslims Office called the dissatisfaction of believers a "political campaign"
When asked if there was a response to her husband's appeal to the head of the Caucasian Muslims Office, Allahshukur Pashazade, the journalist's wife answered negatively.
"Probably, if there had been any response, I would have been informed about it as well, since the appeal was made through me. But Allahshukur Pashazade spoke in the media, yet did not express a specific attitude towards the fact that children are not allowed in schools. On the one hand, he said that the government decree does not mention a ban on the hijab, and on the other hand, he called the dissatisfaction of believers with the fact that students and teachers in hijabs are not allowed in schools a 'political campaign,'" Gülmira Aslanova said.
The issue of the school dress code is intentionally being imposed with the status of a "hijab question," said the chairman of the Caucasian Muslims Office, Allahshukur Pashazade, in an interview with "Real TV." "Although there is not a word about the hijab in the adopted decree - it is exclusively about a unified school uniform. The name is deliberately substituted for greater effect, to play on the feelings of Muslims. This is a targeted action. I am confident that the Ministry of Education will fully regulate this situation over time. We, believers, today stand unwaveringly with our state. Such disputes have long gone beyond religion - this is an outright political campaign against the country," Qafqazinfo.az quoted his words on October 13.
It was not possible to obtain comments from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Penitentiary Service of Azerbaijan, reported the correspondent of "Caucasian Knot."
Restrictions on wearing the hijab 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 indicated who were interviewed by "Caucasian Knot."
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" reference "Protests over the school dress code in Azerbaijan".