HÜDA PAR has condemned restrictions on headscarved students and teachers in Azerbaijan, urging the authorities to end the practices and uphold Muslims’ rights to education, employment and freedom of religion.

Mahmut Şahin, the party’s deputy chairman responsible for human rights and legal affairs, made the remarks in a written statement shared on social media. He criticized reports that headscarved students were being barred from educational institutions and that similar restrictions were being imposed on teachers.

Drawing a parallel with Türkiye’s February 28 process, a period marked by restrictions on religious expression, Şahin said freedom of belief should not be curtailed in the name of secularism.

Şahin described reports of headscarved students being turned away at school gates as a serious violation of fundamental rights and freedoms.

He also expressed concern that restrictions initially affecting students were being extended to teachers, threatening both women’s right to education and their ability to work.

“The headscarf is part of a Muslim woman’s faith and identity,” Şahin said, arguing that women should not have to choose between their religious convictions and participation in education or professional life.

He said the restrictions placed Muslim women in an unacceptable position by making their religious observance an obstacle to exercising their basic rights.

Şahin recalled Türkiye’s February 28 process as a particularly painful period for religiously observant Muslims, when headscarved women faced significant barriers to education and participation in public life.

“Forcing people, in the name of secularism, to choose between their beliefs and their rights to education and work is a clear violation of rights and a great oppression,” he said.

Şahin warned that the reported restrictions in Azerbaijan reflected a similar approach to religious freedom.

“The headscarf oppression experienced during Türkiye’s February 28 process is one of the most painful examples of the grievances inflicted on society by the restrictive mentality,” he said.

“The fact that a similar oppression is being experienced in Azerbaijan today is a manifestation of the restrictive and despotic approaches of those in power,” he added.

Şahin stressed that secularism should not be used to prevent people from practising their faith or to exclude women from schools and workplaces because of their religious dress.

Şahin called on the Azerbaijani authorities to end the reported restrictions and take concrete steps to safeguard freedom of religion and conscience.

“We call on the Azerbaijani administration to put an end to these oppressive practices that violate freedom of religion and conscience, and to guarantee students’ right to education and teachers’ right to work,” he said.

HÜDA PAR said religious observance should not prevent Muslim women from pursuing an education or earning a living, stressing that access to education and employment should not be restricted on the basis of wearing a headscarf. (ILKHA)