In Azerbaijan, Parliament on Friday is expected to debate a new education bill. Trend News today reports that one portion of the proposed draft bans both pupils and teachers from wearing the Muslim headscarf (hijab) or other religious dress in schools. Azerbaijan’s Center for the Protection of Religious Rights and Freedoms of Conscience says that this ban violates the country's constitution as well as international agreements to which the country is a party. However Shamsaddin Hajiyev, chairman of the Parliamentary Commission on Science and Education, says the ban is consistent with Azerbaijan's secular character where religion and state are separate. 95% of the country's population is Muslim.
UPDATE: During Friday's parliamentary debate, Oktay Asadov, Speaker of Azerbaijan Parliament, urged that the ban on headscarves be removed from the bill and that the matter be left to the head of each school. (Trend News).
