March in support of short-wearing held in Baku

Young people assembled on Sunday in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, to show support for people who wear shorts.

Scores of young people, all wearing shorts, marched along Baku’s seafront and around the city. The march was organised by the community organisation Flashmob Azerbaijan, and took place just days after opposition party leader Hafiz Hajiyev expressed his disgust at men wearing shorts and suggested that public censure should play a role in discouraging this behaviour.

“For example, the men in shorts should be booed at, stopped and mocked, acid should be poured on their legs so that they repent and never put on shorts again,” Hafiz Hajiyev stated in late July.

Although the population of Azerbaijan is predominantly Muslim, the country is secular and Western-style clothing is commonplace. However, shorts are deemed by many to be only appropriate for the beach. The UK Foreign Office advises that wearing shorts “can attract unwelcome attention”, particularly in areas outside of Baku.