Headscarf-wearing schoolgirls turned away from school in Azerbaijan

Footage showing headscarf-wearing girls being denied entry to School No. 6 in Azerbaijan’s Sumgayit has drawn wide attention, days after the government changed school dress code rules on September 21.

RuskiGazeta Editorial DeskSeptember 29, 2026, 07:59 PMUpdated: October 02, 2026, 03:07 PM

Headscarf-wearing schoolgirls turned away from school in Azerbaijan

The school administration has not commented.

Headscarf-wearing students outside the school in Sumgayit

A secondary school building in Azerbaijan (file photo)

The change to school uniform rules was introduced by Cabinet Decision No. 309, signed by Prime Minister Ali Asadov on September 21, 2026. It bans clothing that breaks uniformity and is "incompatible with the principle of secularism in general education," without mentioning headscarves. Similar cases have been reported since March in Mehdiabad, Imishli and Sumgayit, though there is no official, uniform headscarf ban in Azerbaijani schools.

It was later claimed that the Sumgayit school had backed down and was again admitting students wearing headscarves to classes. Neither the school nor Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Science and Education has made an official statement.

Students wearing headscarves in a schoolyard