Azeri Women Call For Change In Rules On ID Photos

In the largely Shiite Muslim country of Azerbaijan, government regulations prohibit women from wearing a hijab, or religious headscarf, in photos on their identification documents. Now activists at a meeting of the Center for the Protection of Freedom of Conscience and Religion are calling for a change in the rules. Yesterday's Middle East Times says that women who refuse to remove their headscarves for passport and other identification photos lack equal access to jobs, health care, the right to travel and the right to vote.