TEHRAN -- Iran’s Minister of Science, Research and Technology has invited girls and women from Azerbaijan to study at Iranian universities after Baku barred students and teachers wearing hijabs from schools.
In a video message on Thursday, Hussein Simaei-Sarraf said, “As Iran’s Minister of Science, Research and Technology, I announce that the doors of Iranian universities are open to girls from Azerbaijan.”
“We can be good hosts to the faithful daughters of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), who are forced to abandon their Islamic hijab in order to exercise their right to education,” the minister said.
His invitation comes as the Azerbaijani government amended regulations governing uniforms in state schools in September, prohibiting additional clothing that conflicts with the prescribed uniform or the secular principles of education. 
Although the ban does not explicitly mention the hijab, videos circulated online indicate that it applies specifically to headscarves.
Earlier this month, the Baku City Education Department announced inspections to check whether students and teachers comply with the measure.
 The restrictions have sparked rare public protests in the predominantly Muslim country, with students and parents gathering outside schools in Baku and southern districts. Azerbaijan’s Interior Ministry said 37 people were detained on October 12 for disrupting public order.
Amnesty International called on Azerbaijani authorities to reverse the restrictions, saying that excluding students because of their religious clothing violates their rights to education, religion and freedom of expression. 
Marie Struthers, the organization’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia director, said the secular character of public education did not justify a blanket restriction on religious dress.
The controversy has also created tensions between Azerbaijan and its close ally Turkey. Oktay Saral, an adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, criticized the restrictions as “unacceptable” and urged Baku to reverse the policy. 
Azerbaijan’s ruling New Azerbaijan Party rejected the criticism as interference in its domestic affairs.
Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr condemned the decision, labeling it “secular extremism,” while the Council on American-Islamic Relations called for the lifting of the restrictions, deeming them a violation of religious freedom. 
Shia scholars of Azerbaijani origin residing in Russia also condemned the policy at a meeting in Moscow, describing it as “a clear violation of religious freedom and the fundamental right to education”.