Prisoners in Azerbaijan called on diplomats to help the children of believers.

A group of Azerbaijani prisoners asked foreign embassies to provide asylum for their families or help with the education of schoolgirls facing pressure due to the ban on wearing hijabs.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", since October 12, teachers and female students who refused to remove hijabs have been barred from classes in Azerbaijani schools. In several schools in Baku, students and teachers held lessons outside in protest. On October 13, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported the detention of 37 protest participants, while activists counted more than 200 detained. The protests are a continuation of a long-standing dispute over religious clothing in schools, according to a report by the "Caucasian Knot" titled "Protests over school dress code in Azerbaijan".

A group of believers imprisoned in Azerbaijan appealed to the embassies of foreign states requesting asylum for their family members. They stated that their children face pressure in schools due to the ban on wearing hijabs, Meydan TV reported on its website on October 22.

The authors of the appeal requested either to provide asylum abroad so that their children could continue their education or to create opportunities for them to study in educational institutions associated with these foreign embassies in Azerbaijan.

"As prisoners of conscience, we have repeatedly faced repression due to our religious beliefs. This totalitarian regime, which has fabricated cases against us and sent us to prisons, has now also categorically prohibited our children - believers - from attending school in hijabs," the publication quotes from the appeal.

They return home in tears

The prisoners emphasized that the authorities did not offer alternative solutions to the problems arising from the hijab ban, and in schools, children face harsh treatment and psychological pressure.

"They return home in tears and in a state of psychological trauma," the authors of the appeal stated. Among the signatories are Shamil Abdulaliev, Vusal Alishov, Nakhid Gahramanli and Seymur Aslanov, Etibar Ismayilov, Ramin Aliyev, Ismail Agaev, and Sharif Allahverdiyev, the publication reports.

It should be noted that the authorities stated that the reform aims to completely eliminate religious, ethnic, and socio-economic differences in educational institutions. Although the official statement does not mention hijabs, it is implied under clothing that is "not in accordance with the secular nature of education," believes, in particular, the rights defender of believers Arzu Abdulla. The exclusion of schoolgirls and teachers in hijabs from classes violates the right to education and the principle of secularism, political scientists noted.

Restrictions on wearing hijabs may increase tensions between the state and the religious part of society. The actions of the authorities are possibly linked to political concerns - in particular, the desire to prevent the use of religious discontent by external forces, analysts indicated earlier surveyed by the "Caucasian Knot".

News on this topic has been collected by the "Caucasian Knot" on the page "Hijab as a challenge to the regime: the confrontation between believers and the authorities of Azerbaijan. Who are considered radicals in Baku".