On February 15, during the Munich Security Conference, Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva, who was visiting Germany together with her husband, President Ilham Aliyev, responded to journalist Emin Huseynov’s attempt to ask a question about the state of democracy in Azerbaijan by referring to his past hiding in the Swiss embassy disguised in women’s clothing.
Emin Huseynov said he wanted to ask Mehriban Aliyeva, as she was leaving the conference hall, a question about democracy in Azerbaijan. Aliyeva stopped and replied, “Are you the one who hid in the embassy in women’s clothes? I wish you good health,” and continued on her way.
In 2014, the Prosecutor General’s Office opened a criminal case concerning the activities of the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety, which was led by Emin Huseynov, and imposed a travel ban on him. Huseynov said he and his organization were being pressured for political reasons, but Azerbaijani officials said the case was related to financial violations. To avoid possible arrest and ensure his safety, Huseynov hid in the Swiss embassy building in Baku. This step was intended to allow him to leave the country safely. He emigrated abroad in 2015.
“The response shows the government’s anger”
Sociologist Sanubar Heydarli told Meydan TV that Mehriban Aliyeva’s response to the journalist’s question actually signals that the Aliyev family is currently very angry.
“This ruling family usually ignores independent journalists’ questions and passes without reaction. This time, however, both of them reacted because they were angry over Mehman Huseynov’s videos about their daughter-in-law, Alyona Aliyeva. In Mehriban Aliyeva’s response to Emin Huseynov, there is an attempt to humiliate the journalist. Unfortunately, although she is the Vice-President and a woman, she makes this attempt to humiliate through her gender and clothing. With this response, we also see how alien the topics of women’s rights, women’s legal rights, and the role of women in various processes are to the Azerbaijani government.”
Emin Huseynov’s brother, Mehman Huseynov, has been producing a series of videos about the presidential family, particularly about the family’s daughter-in-law, Alyona Aliyeva. Mehman Huseynov has stated that the videos were made in response to being blackmailed to stop his activities, claiming they recorded intimate moments over five years through hidden cameras installed in his bedroom.
Sanubar Heydarli notes that after these words from the First Vice-President, it would look absurd for her to speak about women’s rights in any international forum:
“Because she turned the issue of women’s clothing into a tool for humiliation. This indicates that Mehriban Aliyeva believes this is somehow a flaw. In our actions, we have always used expressions like ‘fight as a woman,’ ‘strike as a woman.’ This shows that for us, the idea of ‘being brave like a man’ does not exist; it is essential to be brave as a woman. This issue is very important because official circles and high-ranking people still do not fully understand this principle. Even if they consider themselves in line with ultra-modern world standards, they have not escaped patriarchal thinking.”
“How bad has the situation in your country become that a person has to disguise themselves like this to defend themselves?”
Journalist Leyla Mustafayeva told Meydan TV that Mehriban Aliyeva’s words directly answered the journalist’s question about the state of democracy in the country:
“In fact, Mehriban Aliyeva’s reply to the journalist was personally humiliating, even though the question concerned the state of democracy in the country. From this arises a question: how bad is the situation in your country that a person has to disguise themselves like this to defend themselves? With her answer, Mehriban Aliyeva showed everyone that the state of democracy in Azerbaijan is still as it was in 2014 when the repression started—if not worse.”
She added that it would be incorrect to call the media that spread Mehriban Aliyeva’s words “media”:
“They are servants of the regime. Whatever orders come from the Presidential Administration, they execute. Apparently, this time they were instructed to justify Mehriban Aliyeva’s humiliating behavior unfit for the Vice-President and to amplify this view. When you analyze the troll comments under posts like ‘Mehriban Aliyeva responded appropriately,’ you see many repeat each other. This indicates that these media outlets are taking orders from a single center.”
