Fifty-four citizens, including rights activists, academics, lawyers and cultural activists, in a joint statement on Friday condemned a recent Bangladesh Bank circular that instructed female employees of the central bank to wear specific types of dress.
The signatories to the statement include rights activist Sultana Kamal, Association for Land Reform and Development executive director Shamsul Huda, Dhaka University professor Zobaida Nasreen, lawyer ZI Khan Panna and DU professor Samina Luthfa.
They called the circular as 鈥榤isuse of power鈥� and a 鈥榲iolation of fundamental rights鈥�.
The central bank on July 21 issued a directive outlining a dress code for all employees, advising female employees to wear saris, salwar-kameez with dupattas, or other 鈥榤odest鈥� and formal dresses. It discouraged female employees from wearing short-sleeved or short-length outfits and the use of leggings during office hours.
Male employees were instructed to wear full or half-sleeved formal shirts paired with formal pants.
The BB, however, on July 24 withdrew the directive after facing widespread criticism.
The citizens in the statement said, 鈥楾he directive regarding female employees鈥� dress was not only against women鈥檚 rights and unconstitutional but also degrading to the institutional values of a national financial institution.鈥�
They demanded a proper investigation to identify those responsible for issuing and approving the circular and to bring them to justice under existing laws.
