“What kind of brotherhood is this?”։ Protest held against Aliyev in Istanbul

A new and quite sensitive issue has emerged in Turkish-Azerbaijani relations, which for decades have been framed by the concept of “one nation, two states.” A protest rally was held in front of the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Istanbul against Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

The cause of the criticism is the ban on wearing hijabs in Azerbaijani schools.

The protest was organized by Özgür-Der, the Association for Free Thought and Educational Rights. Protesters carried banners reading “No to the hijab ban in Azerbaijan” and “The hijab ban is a disgrace to brotherhood.” Much harsher slogans were also chanted, including “Murderer Israel, accomplice Aliyev.”

The trigger was a new regulation adopted by the Azerbaijani government on September 21. It bans elements of clothing in public schools that violate the integrity of the prescribed uniform or do not comply with the “principle of secularism” in general education. Although the words “hijab” or “headscarf” are not explicitly mentioned in the document, footage was published after the rules were enforced showing schoolgirls wearing hijabs being barred from entering schools. Al Jazeera, in particular, published a video showing crying schoolgirls being turned away from school.

However, the grievances voiced against Aliyev’s government during the Istanbul protest were not limited to the hijab issue alone. Protesters also recalled Azerbaijan’s close ties with Israel. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry characterizes relations between the two countries as having reached a high level with “strategic dialogue,” while the Israeli Embassy calls them a “close friendship and strategic partnership,” which also covers defense and security sectors.

“When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the UN podium, delegations from around 70 countries left the hall or left their seats empty. The Turkish delegation also joined the protest. However, the representative of the Azerbaijani delegation stayed in the hall and listened to Netanyahu’s speech,” the protest organizers said, adding, “What kind of brotherhood is this?”

Hülya Şekerci, one of the organizers of the protest, stated that they consider people facing religious pressure in Azerbaijan to be their brothers, but they reject the definition of a “brother state” for a government that, in her words, stayed in the hall during the anti-Netanyahu protest at the UN and continues to develop strategic relations with Israel.