Girls’ education in rural Azerbaijan: a co-autoethnographic study of societal ‘norms’ and postcolonial legacies

This co/autoethnographic study examines the educational experiences of two women from rural Azerbaijan, focusing on how societal ‘norms’, gendered expectations and post-Soviet transformations shaped their access to education from the 1990s onward. Using a co/autoethnographic methodology, we draw on collaboratively narrated memories, reflective memos and thematic analysis to analyse lived experiences across childhood, adolescence and early adulthood. This qualitative approach allows us to situate rural educational narratives within broader socio-historical and political contexts, including the collapse of Soviet institutional support, armed conflict in Azerbaijani lands, and the resurgence of traditional gender norms. Guided by a post-colonial framework, the study explores how structural instability, cultural restrictions and gendered power relations contributed to persistent educational barriers, impostor syndrome and resilience-driven motivation for girls from peripheral regions. The article contributes to the literature on post-Soviet gender studies by offering an empirically grounded, insider perspective on women’s education in rural Azerbaijan, an underrepresented context in existing scholarship. By linking autoethnographic data to national and regional gender dynamics, this study challenges static portrayals of post-Soviet transition and highlights the uneven, gendered consequences of social change. The findings underscore the importance of culturally sensitive, gender-responsive educational policies that address both structural inequalities and their long-term psychological effects.