A senior official from HÜDA PAR party has criticized Azerbaijan over reported restrictions affecting headscarved students, saying regulations on dress should not be used to deny young women access to education.

Zehra Çiftçi, a member of HÜDA PAR’s General Administrative Board, said she was deeply concerned by reports that students wearing the headscarf in Azerbaijan were facing obstacles to their education.

Referring to Türkiye’s own experience with headscarf restrictions, Çiftçi said the measures imposed in the aftermath of the Feb. 28, 1997 military intervention had hindered thousands of young women from pursuing their education and careers.

“The February 28 postmodern coup and the long-lasting headscarf ban that followed brought nothing to our country in terms of progress, development or social unity,” Çiftçi said. “On the contrary, they prevented thousands of young women from contributing their potential and labor to society and became a source of polarization and division.”

She recalled how women wearing the headscarf were prevented from entering university classrooms, had their academic achievements disregarded and faced restrictions on employment in the public sector.

“The headscarf ban is recorded in our recent history through the suffering of young women who were kept waiting at university gates, removed from classrooms, denied their right to education, had their achievements ignored and were prevented from working in the public sector,” she said.

Çiftçi urged Azerbaijan to learn from Türkiye’s experience and ensure that no student is forced to choose between her education and her religious beliefs.

“No Azerbaijani girl should be forced to choose between her right to education and her faith,” she said.

Describing the headscarf as an expression of faith and an integral part of the identity of many Muslim women, Çiftçi said restrictions on it amounted to interference with religious freedom and freedom of conscience.

“Interfering with the headscarf means suppressing belief and obstructing freedom of religion and conscience,” she underlined.

Çiftçi expressed solidarity with headscarved young women in Azerbaijan and called for an immediate end to what she described as restrictions affecting their access to education. (ILKHA)