Rahim Shaliyev

3 Posts

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Rahim has worked as a human rights defender and journalist in Azerbaijan and Georgia for over 5 years. He writes mainly about ethnic minorities, queer issues, peacebuilding, and women's rights. He is

Azerbaijan

The name game in Azerbaijan: protection or discrimination?

by Rahim Shaliyev

•6 min read

Azerbaijan’s list of banned names for newborn babies is supposed to protect children from ‘ridicule, revulsion, and humiliation’. But with names like ‘Talysh’ and those commonly used by Russian speakers included on the list, many suspect the true purpose of the country’s naming policies is ethnic discrimination. ‘It made me feel insulted’, Ali Nazarov, a resident of Baku of Talysh origins says of the decision 5 years ago to ban the name ‘Talysh’ for newborns in Azerbaijan. ‘Is there even anybo

Azerbaijan

Beyond the controversies, Baku’s Europa League final brought little for locals

by Rahim Shaliyev

•7 min read

Beyond the international headlines about Mkhitaryan and inconvenienced fans, the people of Azerbaijan faced travel restrictions and more because of the game. But despite complaints of few economic or sporting benefits of playing host, some say it is still beneficial in drawing attention to human rights abuses in the country. On 29 May, for the first time in its history, Baku hosted the final of the Europa League football tournament. But even before the Arsenal–Chelsea match took place, the

Armenia

Libraries full of hate: from Azerbaijan to Georgia

by Rahim Shaliyev

•6 min read

Azerbaijan has been supplying Georgian libraries with books containing hate speech against Armenians. While the libraries don’t see them as a problem, some Azerbaijani Georgians fear they might help plant the seeds of ethnic tension. When Imran Gafarov, an Azerbaijani Georgian, came across a book full of territorial claims and hate speech against Armenians at the public library in Marneuli, an Azerbaijani-majority city in southern Georgia’s Kvemo Kartli region, he was in a state of di

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