Azerbaijan, where about 96% of the population identifies as Muslim, has introduced new secular dress codes that effectively ban female students and teachers from wearing Islamic headscarves in public schools, sparking protests, classroom boycotts and dozens of arrests.
Female students were turned away from classes, while female teachers in Baku and Sumgayit reported being ordered to remove their headscarves or resign.
The restrictions have sparked protests in several areas, including Baku, Jalilabad and Masali, with students gathering outside schools and boycotting classrooms in solidarity with members of her class who were denied entry.
Azerbaijan's Ministry of Interior announced that 37 people were arrested due to disturbances related to the protests.
Authorities reported attempts to set fire to a school and a school principal's car in separate incidents. Oktay Sarel, an adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, condemned the restrictions and urged Azerbaijan to withdraw them.
The new ruling party of Azerbaijan, led by President Ilham Aliyev, responded by accusing elements of the Turkish ruling party of meddling in the country's internal affairs.
The party defended the regulations as measures designed to maintain secularism, equality and a unified educational environment, and warned that Turkey had no right to impose its political or religious views on Azerbaijan.