While many associate Muslim-majority countries with the promotion of Islamic dress, several states have imposed partial or complete bans on the hijab and other forms of religious attire.
Driven by a mix of secular ideologies, national identity concerns, and efforts to curb extremism, countries like Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and the Kyrgyz Republic have enforced policies limiting or prohibiting the hijab in schools, government offices, or public spaces.
These restrictions have sparked debates over religious freedom, women's rights, and the role of the state in regulating personal expression in societies where Islam is a dominant cultural force.
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan is constitutionally a secular state, despite over 90‑percent of the population being Muslim. In December 2010 the government introduced regulations that banned the wearing of the hijab in schools.
Girls were required to conform to a standard school uniform that excluded headscarves, and school authorities enforced rules refusing entry to students wearing hijab.
Over time, this prohibition extended informally or formally into universities as well. At least in some instances, students at the Azerbaijan State Oil Academy were denied admission for wearing hijab.
Activists and religious groups have criticised these measures, arguing that they violate religious freedoms.
The justification given by Azerbaijani authorities typically revolves around secularism of the state, a desire for uniformity in schools, and the idea that in public educational institutions religious symbols or religiously‑motivated dress should be limited.
Critics counter that such measures amount to discrimination and suppress women’s ability to choose.
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan has also moved to ban certain Islamic dress, especially face‑covering veils such as the niqab, and to restrict hijab in public institutions like schools. In 2025 a law was passed that bans clothing in public places that interferes with facial recognition.
Although that law does not explicitly name religious garments, its effect is understood to include niqab and burqa. Exemptions are allowed for medical reasons, adverse weather, and participation in certain events.
Earlier, schools in Kazakhstan had also been banned from allowing hijab and other visible religious symbols. Teachers as well had restrictions. The Education Ministry has asserted that schools are secular institutions and that uniforms must be consistent with that secular order.
Supporters of the restrictions frame them in terms of preserving a secular public space, national identity, and public safety. Opponents argue that they infringe on individual religious rights, particularly for women who view hijab as essential to their faith.
Tajikistan
Tajikistan is the one country that perhaps have the most comprehensive legal ban among these countries.
Although for many years restrictions were unofficial or applied by custom (for example in schools or public institutions), in June 2024 the parliament formally passed a law banning the hijab, among other religious clothing.
The banned pieces of clothing fall under a category of “foreign clothing” or “clothes alien to national culture.”
This law also bans the import, sale, promotion and wearing of such “foreign” garments. Fines are significant: ordinary citizens face substantial monetary penalties; government officials and religious figures face even steeper fines if they violate the law.
Another dimension in Tajikistan has been the broader campaign by government authorities to discourage visible signs of religiosity: not only hijab but also beards, mosque attendance by youth, religious education abroad, and other religious symbols.
The laws are often justified by the state in terms of preserving national tradition, preventing extremism, and avoiding what authorities consider foreign influences.
Kyrgyz Republic
The Kyrgyz Republic (Kyrgyzstan) has likewise enacted laws banning face‑covering Islamic veils, and in educational institutions there have been rules restricting hijab.
In early 2025 a law went into effect banning the niqab (and other face‑covering garments) in public places, with certain exceptions (for medical reasons, etc.), and imposing fines for violation.
At the school level, hijab bans have been enforced more strictly in recent years. Girls wearing hijab are sometimes barred from attending class, or administrators enforce uniform rules that exclude hijab, citing secular education policy or equality norms.
The rationale offered by Kyrgyz authorities often includes public safety, national identity, secularism, and concerns about radicalization or external religious influence.
Critics argue that the laws and regulations disproportionately impact Muslim women’s rights, impose burdens on minority communities, and may be in tension with international norms of religious freedom.
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan does not appear to have a clearly codified total ban on hijab in all public domains in the way Tajikistan or Kazakhstan have in certain cases, but it has imposed increasingly restrictive dress codes and informal policies that limit women’s choices.
Reports suggest that women in certain workplaces in Ashgabat (and more broadly) are required to adhere to specific colour‑dress rules: for example, headscarves of certain colours (yellow for unmarried women) or yellow dresses for married women.
These rules are sometimes said to be “orders from above” without formal legal statutes, yet non‑compliance can lead to dismissal or other penalties.
Other restrictions in Turkmenistan concern cosmetics, beauty practices, and appearance more broadly.
The state encourages traditional national attire, discourages what officials deem “foreign” or “modern” styles that conflict with national values, and sometimes enforces these by unofficial pressure rather than explicit law.
Because the measures are often not clearly codified into law, enforcement can be inconsistent, but many women report that they feel compelled to comply in practice. Turkmenistan’s highly centralized and authoritarian governance structure amplifies the effect of these informal edicts.
