A Girl’s Hijab Should Never Be a Barrier to Her Education

Ten-year-old Khadija of Azerbaijan has a message for the world: “I will never give up my hijab. It is my pride, not a barrier to education.”

Yet schoolgirls in Azerbaijan are being turned away from classrooms for wearing the Islamic headscarf.

In September, Azerbaijan adopted new school dress-code rules prohibiting clothing deemed inconsistent with school uniforms or the principle of secular education. Although the regulations do not explicitly mention hijabs, schools began denying entry to girls wearing them on October 12.

The restrictions have sparked protests across the country, with schoolchildren demonstrating against the ban. Amnesty International has condemned the discriminatory restrictions and called for the release of people detained solely for peacefully exercising their rights.

On October 16, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, stated: “Denying girls access to classrooms because they wear a hijab is discriminatory and violates their rights to education, and the freedoms of religion and expression.”

Where are the Western women’s rights organizations that rightly champion women’s freedom and equality? Some, including Amnesty International, have spoken out. But this issue deserves far greater and more sustained public attention.

Women’s rights cannot be selective. If you defend a woman’s right to remove her hijab, you must also defend her right to wear it. A Muslim girl does not forfeit her dignity, autonomy, or fundamental rights because of her religious convictions.

Please spare us the lectures about a woman’s right to choose if that principle disappears when a Muslim girl exercises that choice.

And where is the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), representing 57 member states? I have seen no public response from the organization to this ban. Its silence raises a troubling question: What is the value of solidarity if it disappears when Muslim girls need it most?

Secular education should not mean excluding children because of their religious dress. No girl should have to choose between her faith and her education.

Let Khadija learn. Let her wear her hijab. Let her choose.

Mahmoud El-Yousseph is a Palestinian freelance writer and retired U.S. Air Force veteran. He writes about U.S. foreign policy, Middle Eastern affairs, and justice.