by Akhtar Makoii, Telegraph (photo: Unsplash)
Azerbaijan has population of nearly 11 million people and roughly 96 per cent follow Islam
Through the glass, the lesson goes on without them.
Schoolgirls in headscarves stand in the yard, faces at the window, watching classmates they can no longer sit with.
Some wipe tears from their eyes.
Such scenes became widespread in Azerbaijan this month after the government banned the hijab in schools.
The decision has triggered a national dispute over faith, schooling and identity in the South Caucasus nation of nearly 11 million people, where roughly 96 per cent are Muslim.
The state, however, is constitutionally secular.
The question many are asking is why a Muslim-majority nation would shut Muslim girls out of class.