Baku repelled attempts of external interference in the hijab and school uniform issue.

Iran and Turkey criticized the restrictions on hijab in Azerbaijani schools without coordination, Baku firmly rejected external interference, but its alliance with Ankara will remain, experts surveyed by "Caucasian Knot" indicated. Social media users also linked opponents of a unified school uniform to external forces.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", Iranian officials called on Azerbaijani girls and women facing restrictions on wearing hijab in their country to continue their education in Iran. In Baku, this statement was interpreted as interference in the internal affairs of the country. Azerbaijan also reacted negatively to criticism from allied Turkey regarding the restrictions on wearing hijab in schools. By October 30, discontent with the restrictions within Azerbaijan remained in the form of separate actions near schools, with participants facing detentions and police summons.

The restrictions on hijab in Azerbaijani schools have drawn criticism from both Iran and Turkey – a rare case of Tehran and Ankara's positions coinciding regarding Baku, but there was neither coordination nor synchrony in this, believes member of the Azerbaijani National Public Committee for Eurointegration Togrul Juvarly. The "hijab crisis" has somewhat cooled relations between Baku and Ankara, but will not fundamentally affect their strategic and allied nature, believes expert of the Turan analytical service Tapdyg Farhadoglu.

Iran's Position

Iran positions itself as a defender of Muslims and Islamic values worldwide and is particularly sensitive to issues of protecting religious rights in Azerbaijan, where the majority of the population are Shiites, noted Juvarly.

"Besides caring about the 'protection of religious values', the Iranian regime traditionally uses issues related to what they believe in Tehran to be 'the infringement of believers' rights' to pressure Azerbaijan due to its close ties with Israel. However, the harsh reaction from Iran came from certain reactionary political circles and clergy. Official Tehran was quite cautious, criticism was indirect and reflected in statements by the vice president and minister of education that Azerbaijani students in hijabs could continue their studies in Iran. It was obvious that this was nothing more than rhetoric, as education in Iran is in Persian, and Azerbaijani citizens do not speak it. Nevertheless, Baku reacted harshly and made it clear to Iran that if it comes to creating conditions for education, then let them first open schools in the Azerbaijani language for ethnic Azerbaijanis, whose number in Iran, according to various estimates, ranges from 20 to 35 million people," continued Juvarly.

The cautious position of Iran is due, in his opinion, to the situation that arose after the strikes by the US and Israel this spring.

"After the military escalation, destructive strikes, and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz by Americans for Iranian vessels, Iran found itself in almost complete economic isolation. And now Iran heavily depends on Azerbaijan in relation to the outside world. An important land route to Russia passes through Azerbaijan in the shortest way. Moreover, through Azerbaijan, Georgia, and the Black Sea, Iran maintains a route for trade ties with Europe," noted Juvarly.

Farhadoglu also believes that political circles in Iran always strive to use the religious factor to pressure Azerbaijan.

"However, Iran is not in a position to dictate anything to Azerbaijan right now. Baku responded harshly to Tehran when the Iranian minister stated readiness to accept Azerbaijani students in hijabs. At the same time, Iran itself, despite the constitutional enshrinement of the right to education in the native language of the peoples of the country, does not provide such a right to ethnic Azerbaijanis, who make up up to 35 percent of the country's population," stated Farhadoglu.

Turkey's Position

The ruling conservative elite of Turkey and radical religious circles perceived the restrictions imposed in Azerbaijan for schoolgirls and teachers as a violation not only of Islamic norms but also of citizens' freedom of choice, Juvarly reported.

"For many decades in Turkey, hijab was under strict prohibition in the educational sphere and public administration, and only under the rule of the Justice and Development Party of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was the ban lifted. Therefore, conservative social circles in Turkey reacted painfully to the hijab ban, even if it occurred in a friendly Muslim country. Of course, the reaction was also influenced by the differing positions of Azerbaijan and Turkey on the situation in the Gaza Strip. While Turkey harshly condemns Israel, Azerbaijan limits itself to merely politically supporting the right of Palestine to establish its own state and continues and develops economic cooperation with the Jewish state. For many supporters of the ruling party in Turkey, this causes bewilderment," said the expert.

However, he added, as in the case with Iran, Azerbaijan made it clear that it would not allow interference in its internal affairs even from Turkey, despite Ankara always actively supporting Baku on international platforms.

"Azerbaijan and Turkey's relations were characterized by the formula 'one nation – two states'. But after Turkey began to criticize Azerbaijan due to the hijab restriction, official propaganda through the mouths of deputies and media 'clarified' that it concerns two 'equal states', and Azerbaijan will not tolerate an 'older brother' over it. Baku gave a harsh response. In Azerbaijan, criminal cases were opened against seven Turkish citizens – bloggers, religious and social activists, accusing them of public calls for violent seizure of power, inciting religious hatred, and producing and distributing religious-extremist materials. 31 Turkish citizens were declared persona non grata in Azerbaijan, including two deputies of the Turkish parliament. To avoid deepening disagreements and harming allied relations, Ankara retreated – the advisor to the president of Turkey, Oktay Saral, who allowed public criticism of Azerbaijan, was dismissed," said Juvarly.

Mutual Dependence

Farhadoglu is confident that Azerbaijan defended its sovereignty. "Azerbaijan perceived criticism of the hijab restrictions as interference in internal affairs and showed readiness to defend its sovereignty. If two years ago Baku showed such principledness towards Russia, which long did not acknowledge responsibility for the downing of the Azerbaijani passenger plane over Grozny, now Azerbaijan has shown that it also intends to defend its sovereignty from criticism on issues it considers its sovereign rights in relations with Turkey," said the expert.

Despite incomparable human, economic, and military resources, Turkey depends on Azerbaijan no less than Azerbaijan depends on it.

"Azerbaijan has invested heavily in Turkey's oil refining and petrochemicals, supplies gas at fixed prices favorable for Ankara, and meets its needs for blue fuel by 20 percent. Azerbaijan is the largest buyer of products from the Turkish [military-industrial complex], and that at market prices. Turkey also receives transit revenues from the export of oil and gas. Moreover, Azerbaijan is a bridge for Turkey to Central Asia and is essentially the core uniting the Turkic world," said Farhadoglu.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev did not go to the summit of the Organization of Turkic States in Ankara on October 30. Officially, this was explained by his busy schedule and participation in pre-planned events, noted Farhadoglu. Baku was represented by Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, who supported all decisions of the forum.

According to Farhadoglu, Aliyev's absence from the summit was Baku's final word in the disagreements of recent weeks. He noted that in recent days, confrontational rhetoric in the media of both countries has subsided.

"Moreover, on November 2, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, flying over Azerbaijani airspace to South Korea, conveyed congratulations to President Ilham Aliyev and the people of the country on the occasion of Victory Day, celebrated on November 8. This information was prominently featured in the top news of pro-government media in Azerbaijan," noted Farhadoglu.

He noted that in recent history, there was a deeper crisis between Azerbaijan and Turkey: in 2009, it was caused by attempts mediated by the West to normalize relations between Ankara and Yerevan 'behind Baku's back'.

"However, in the end, the Turkish leadership took into account the position and interests of Azerbaijan, and the so-called football diplomacy between Ankara and Yerevan came to an end," noted Farhadoglu.

According to Farhadoglu, Baku and Ankara will maintain the allied nature of their relations. "In the future, Ankara will certainly take into account that this is an alliance of 'equal brothers'," noted the analyst.

Social media users linked those dissatisfied with the school uniform to Iranian agents

On the Facebook*-page of "Caucasian Knot", one of the posts about protests against the ban on wearing hijab in schools from October 31 garnered 962 comments, another – 727. Many users with Azerbaijani names expressed support for the authorities' decision on the school dress code and personally for President Ilham Aliyev.

"While children are minors, they should be under the guardianship of the state, measures should be taken and these parents should not be allowed to torment children," stated Gulnara Seyfullayeva. "Let them study in madrasas and other religious schools in hijabs. There should be no place for religious attributes in general education, and there should be a unified uniform for all students," believes Elçin Əhmədov. "In Azerbaijan, there is no decree on a unified school uniform and hijab in the format of this uniform. So there is no ban on hijab in the country: wear it wherever you want, just not within the walls of the school," added Sevda Agalarova.

"Azerbaijan is a secular modern state. In our secondary schools, students wear a unified school uniform. And everyone must obey the laws of the state," is confident Emil Khankendi.

"There is no ban on hijab in Azerbaijan. Muslim holidays are celebrated at the state level. Mosques are being built and repaired. There are categorical requirements for school uniforms. And yes, there should be no religious preaching in schools. Children from different families, of different faiths study there. Specialized institutions should be established for the study of religion and theology. And even then under the supervision of the state," wrote Vagif Abasov.

"Apparently, people have a lot of money to pay fines for not attending school. Some students took off their hijabs and go to school. The sky did not fall on them. And it won't fall on others either," believes Gulnara Magerramova.

"I was told that many girls happily took off their hijabs and continue studying at school, they said their parents forced them [...]. Children should not be tormented. Let them live their childhood and study at school, and if their heart wants to close later, let them do it themselves without pressure. In Islam, pressure is unacceptable," noted Yagut Aliyeva.

Some also expressed outrage at attempts of external interference in Azerbaijan's affairs. "In 2018, a ban on wearing hijab in state educational institutions was introduced in Uzbekistan, then a similar ban was introduced in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and in 2024 in Tajikistan, but there is no hysteria, and only Azerbaijan's actions cause such hysteria," claims Eynulla Dadashev.

"When hijabs were banned in schools in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, there was no such hysteria. What do you want from Azerbaijan, we know and your number will not pass, Azerbaijan is not Iran and not Afghanistan," added Kyarəm Abbasov.

Information about similar bans for schoolgirls in the listed Central Asian countries was partially confirmed by another commentator, with his caveat. "There was such a ban in Uzbekistan. But neither teachers nor students followed it. So everything is fine. My daughters in hijabs finished school and work...", wrote Muḥammad Ṣobir.

A number of users insist that the protests were not massive. "What mass protests? Our government's decision is being implemented, not discussed. 90 percent of the population fully supports the government on this issue," assured Fahreddin Paşaoğlu. "In two schools, they shouted, in one they broke a window, in another they set a car on fire," described the situation Tamilla Melikova.

"I work as a taxi driver and take students to schools. I have four different schools in total. Two of my older grandchildren study at the other end of the city, two younger ones in a village 30 km from Baku. My daughter, a teacher, is also in another part of the city, and my sister-in-law is also a teacher in a school in the city. But I have not seen or heard from them about any protests or anything else," shared Yashar Veliev.

"These were small protests in some small villages that are under the influence of Iran. The special services are already dealing with these radicals. We all know this," stated Ayas Hu.

"Nardaran has always been under the influence of Iran. Surprisingly, but the residents of Nardaran once created their own republic within the republic. [...] The last time I was there in 2011, I conducted a survey, I was afraid to go. We were even instructed on how to behave so as not to anger the religious people," reported Movsumova Nargiz.

"My summer house is in Nardaran, and we have never faced any religious pressure. Yes, the population there is religious, they live their lives, do not bother anyone, and it is quite safe there. For more than 25 years, it has been surrounded on all sides by police posts. It is unclear what they are afraid of, whom they are controlling. One good thing is that the posts already know all of us by face, but they stop guests and ask where they are going. The streets are calm, no one cares about anyone," she replied to her.

A user with the nickname Olive Tree reported that "private schools in Azerbaijan allow hijab," referring to the experience of her daughter, who attends one of these educational institutions.

"She wears a scarf, and there are also girls in scarves. There are teachers in hijabs, and staff too. The uniform is of course mandatory, but braiding dreadlocks, dyeing hair, wearing hijabs, different headbands is not prohibited, it is considered self-expression. If believers have the opportunity to send their daughters to private schools, let them do so. There are many such schools now, some are expensive, and some are more budget-friendly. You can also choose the language of instruction (Azerbaijani, English, Russian). In general, international schools do not fall under the local Ministry of Education," she wrote.