29.10.2026 18:16
In Azerbaijan, where a ban on entering public schools with a headscarf is enforced, President Ilham Aliyev responded to criticism against his country by saying, "An independent country cannot be lectured; the situation in other countries is those peoples' own matter."
In Azerbaijan, where students and teachers are banned from entering public schools wearing headscarves, the response to international criticism and discourse on the issue came from President Ilham Aliyev. Aliyev reacted harshly to assessments made regarding his country's internal affairs and the decisions it has taken.
ALIYEV: EVERY NATION'S OWN AFFAIR
Emphasizing an independent state's authority to make its own decisions, President Ilham Aliyev made the following statements regarding outside interference and efforts to lecture: "An independent country should not be lectured on what it should and should not do. You should ask yourself, do you have the right to lecture anyone? What happens in other countries is those people's and those nations' own affair."
DESPITE REACTIONS, DID NOT BACK DOWN
While the Azerbaijani government's stance on dress code regulations in educational institutions continues resolutely, Aliyev's statement was regarded as a direct message to the international public.