The decision taken on the dress code for officers and employees working at Bangladesh Bank has been withdrawn. Arif Hossain Khan, the executive director and spokesperson of the central bank, gave this information in a message sent to the media on Thursday (July 24).
He said that in various departmental meetings of Bangladesh Bank, there was a discussion about advising people to wear professional and elegant clothes during office hours. However, no policy decision has been taken in this regard so far and no circular has been issued by Bangladesh Bank in this regard.
After the matter was published in the media, the governor, who is stationed abroad, expressed his anger when it came to his attention and the matter was immediately withdrawn on his instructions, the spokesperson said.
Earlier, on Monday (July 21), the minutes of a monthly meeting of Human Resources Division-2 included some suggestions regarding the dress code. Clause 11 (d) of the decision said that professional clothes should be worn considering the social context. It recommends wearing formal shirts, pants and shoes for men and sarees, salwar-kameez and plain clothes for women. It also recommends avoiding short-sleeved, leggings and gabardine-like clothes.
However, in the context of the overall discussion, the Bangladesh Bank spokesperson clarified that this was an advisory step, not a mandatory directive. He also said that no restrictions were imposed on wearing burqa and hijab.
He said, “There are differences in clothing among officers and employees of different ages. The issue was brought up for discussion to reduce the mental discrimination caused by this diversity and increase mutual understanding. However, although excessively elaborate clothing was discouraged, there was no intention to curtail anyone’s freedom.”
It is worth noting that other sections of the decision emphasized decent behavior at work, use of social media and adherence to office etiquette.
However, when controversy arose on the issue in the public media, the Bangladesh Bank authorities took immediate action. Now this decision has been officially withdrawn.
