After facing severe criticism from the employees and the public, Bangladesh Bank has, as reported, withdrawn its recently announced dress code that put some limitations on the clothing of both the male and female workers.
The rules, which were widely condemned, had originally prohibited female staff from wearing mini dresses, sleeveless attire, and leggings. Instead, they were asked to dress in sarees or salwar kameez with headscarves or hijabs, and proper shoes or sandals. The male staff was also asked not to wear jeans and chino trousers at work.
The Executive Director and spokesperson of the central bank, Arif Hossain, wrote about the matter in an official release, explaining that no official policy had ever been put in place. “Given the social environment of all ranks of officers and employees who work in Bangladesh Bank, a decision was made in the discussion of the concerned departmental meetings to instruct them to wear professional and decent attire while attending office,” he said.
He also clarified that the issue was never made into an official policy. “No policy decision, however, was made in this regard, and no circular issued in this regard. When this internal issue came to the attention of the governor, who is out of the country, through the media, he himself showed his displeasure, and according to his instructions, the issue has been withdrawn at the moment,” Arif said.
The controversial order, which had called for ‘modest’ attire, had led to significant criticism and protests, eventually prompting the bank to reverse its decision.
