Politics · Turkey · 1 hr ago
Azerbaijan ruling party criticises Turkish officials over school headscarf dispute
Azerbaijan’s ruling party criticised Turkish officials who spoke out against school clothing rules seen as restricting headscarves.
The rules, issued by Azerbaijan’s Cabinet of Ministers, bar clothing additions considered inconsistent with school uniforms and secular education, but do not mention headscarves by name.
The rules have prompted concern about headscarved students’ access to education, including from Turkish presidential adviser Oktay Saral and ruling-party lawmaker Müfit Aydın.
The New Azerbaijan Party said the comments were irresponsible and could create tension between the two countries.
It said Azerbaijan’s education policy is a matter of national sovereignty and urged Turkey’s ruling AK Party to stop what it called a harmful policy.
Saadet Party leader Mahmut Arıkan also urged President Ilham Aliyev to end the disputed practices in a letter, but no decision or next step by Azerbaijan’s government was reported.
Azerbaijan’s ruling New Azerbaijan Party criticised Turkish officials and lawmakers for opposing school clothing rules that have raised concerns about headscarves.
The party said their comments ignored Azerbaijan’s constitutional order and religious-freedom laws and could create artificial tension between the two countries.
Turkish presidential adviser Oktay Saral said preventing students from wearing headscarves from attending school was unacceptable.
Saadet Party leader Mahmut Arıkan also urged Azerbaijan’s president to end what he called a headscarf ban in educational institutions.
Azerbaijan’s rules do not explicitly mention headscarves, but restrictions on them have become a point of debate.
- Who
- Azerbaijan’s ruling New Azerbaijan Party and Turkish politicians, including Oktay Saral and Mahmut Arıkan.
- What
- The party criticised Turkish comments opposing Azerbaijan’s school clothing rules, which have raised concerns about headscarf restrictions.
- When
- The reports were published on 12 and 13 October 2026. The party issued its statement on Tuesday.
- Where
- Azerbaijan and Turkey.
- Why
- Azerbaijan’s rules on student uniforms and teachers’ clothing have prompted concern that headscarves are being restricted in schools.
New Azerbaijan Party
Turkish critics of the school rules
Aspect
New Azerbaijan Party
side A's view
Turkish critics of the school rules
side B's view
School clothing rules
New Azerbaijan Party
The rules relate to school uniform standards and Azerbaijan’s secular state structure.
Turkish critics of the school rules
The rules restrict headscarved students’ right to education and should be changed.
Public criticism
New Azerbaijan Party
Turkish officials and lawmakers should respect Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and avoid political interference.
Turkish critics of the school rules
Speaking against the restrictions is necessary to defend students’ rights and religious freedom.
Azerbaijan announced new rules on student uniforms and teachers’ clothing in general education institutions.
Mahmut Arıkan published a letter to President Ilham Aliyev opposing the reported headscarf restrictions.
Oktay Saral criticised the restrictions in a post on X.
The New Azerbaijan Party issued a statement criticising Turkish officials and lawmakers who opposed the rules.
- Ruling party
- New Azerbaijan Party
- Turkish adviser
- Oktay Saral
- Saadet Party leader
- Mahmut Arıkan
- Rules
- Apply to student uniforms and teachers’ clothing in general education institutions
- Published reports
- 12 and 13 October 2026
3 sources
What people are saying
We call on the AK Party government to abandon this harmful policy.
These issues being used as a tool of political manipulation and division, such as the headscarf, serves neither the unity of the people of Turkey nor the solidarity of the Muslim world in general.
Preventing headscarved students in Azerbaijan from exercising their right to education is unacceptable!
The headscarf ban applied in educational institutions in brotherly Azerbaijan has deeply saddened and worried us.
Posts on X
Azerbaycan’da başörtülü öğrencilerin eğitim hakkının engellenmesi kabul edilemez! İnancı gereği başını örten bir öğrenciyi okul kapısında bırakmak, hangi vicdana, hangi adalete sığar? Başörtüsü engel değil, inancın gereğidir! Eğitim hakkı hiçbir ideolojik dayatmaya kurban