BAKU - Azerbaijan’s debate over head coverings in schools has moved beyond dress codes and into questions about political Islam, secular education and foreign influence, two Iranian Azerbaijani activists said.
Political commentator Babak Bakhtavar and women’s rights activist Turkan Urmulu discussed the controversy on the Apostrof program, including the reaction from some Turkish political circles and the risk that religion could be used as a tool to pressure Baku.
Both supported protecting Azerbaijan’s secular model, but said restrictions alone would not provide a lasting solution. They called for stronger schools, closer work with families and broader social support.
Religion and Political Mobilization
Bakhtavar said some participants in the debate were using the hijab as a political instrument and tying school-uniform rules to Azerbaijan’s foreign policy, including its relations with Israel.
He said authorities and the public should distinguish among a traditional headscarf, a person’s private religious faith and organized political activity conducted under religious slogans.
Bakhtavar also criticized efforts to judge a woman’s morality by whether she covers her head, saying that approach can turn clothing into grounds for condemning women and excusing violence against them.
Addressing criticism from Turkey, he drew a line between national alliance and religious solidarity.
“The approach coming from part of Turkish society today is ‘two states, one ummah,’ not ‘two states, one nation,'” Bakhtavar said.
He argued that Azerbaijan’s close relationship with Turkey does not mean Baku must join political-Islam projects or subordinate its policy to competition for religious leadership. He stressed that he was referring to specific groups and that Turkish society contains different views of developments in Azerbaijan.
Warnings Against a One-Sided Response
Urmulu agreed that the secular state must be protected but warned against explaining the entire dispute as foreign interference. Azerbaijani society remains conservative, she said, and women covered their heads long before the current political controversy. It would therefore be wrong to treat every woman wearing a headscarf as connected to outside forces.
Urmulu said she had been required to wear the hijab in Iran from age six. She described the experience as difficult and said coercion was one of the main reasons she left the country.
At the same time, she said images of crying girls outside school gates could have the opposite of the intended effect by allowing radical groups to portray themselves as defenders of children and attract additional support.
“I do not support a soft approach. I support the right, deep and effective long-term approach,” Urmulu said.
She proposed a greater role for school psychologists, sustained communication with parents and support for children from vulnerable families. Poverty, she said, makes it easier for radical religious networks to recruit people.
Bakhtavar likewise said the response should stop political exploitation of religion without treating families unfairly when a headscarf is part of sincere personal faith.
Both speakers linked the durability of Azerbaijan’s secular model to broader reforms. Bakhtavar said concern about children’s upbringing should be matched by attention to education quality, health care, family assistance and the gap between rich and poor.
Urmulu said secular Azerbaijan remains a source of hope for Azerbaijanis in Iran, making it important to develop a long-term policy that resists religious radicalism while retaining public trust.
Source: Vesti Baku; Apostrof.