Reacting to the growing number of reports that peaceful activists protesting the school hijab ban have been detained and that an activist who attempted to organize free online lessons for girls affected by the uniform regulations has gone missing, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director, said:
“Mass arrests of peaceful protesters alongside participants in violent riots, including the reported detention of a mother protesting against her daughter’s exclusion from school, and the disappearance of an activist who aimed to help affected girls, are typical of the state’s violent suppression of the lawful exercise of the right to protest peacefully, and the crackdown on freedom of expression and all dissent in Azerbaijan.
“Denying girls access to classrooms because they wear a hijab is discriminatory and violates their rights to education, and the freedoms of religion and expression. The secular character of public education doesn’t justify a blanket restriction on religious dress.
Denying girls access to classrooms because they wear a hijab is discriminatory and violates their rights to education, and the freedoms of religion and expression
Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director
“The Azerbaijani authorities must reverse these discriminatory restrictions and ensure that affected pupils and teachers can return to school. They must immediately and unconditionally release anyone detained solely for peacefully exercising their rights. They must respect the right to peaceful protest and all human rights.”
Background
According to new school uniform regulations, from 12 October, pupils and teachers wearing hijabs were denied entry to schools across Azerbaijan, prompting mass protests and acts of public disobedience, some of them resulting in violence. On that day, according to the Interior Ministry, 37 people were detained in Baku alone, while activists reported more than 200 det
… [more]
