Bangladesh Bank withdraws new dress code rules

The governor, who is currently abroad, instructed that it be withdrawn when he became aware of the matter through media reports, a central bank spokesman says

A regulatory body has withdrawn the dress code recently instituted by Bangladesh Bank for all levels of officials and employees.

Arief Hossain Khan, an executive director and spokesman for the central bank, said on Thursday:

“A decision was taken in the respective departmental meetings to advise all levels of officials and employees working at Bangladesh Bank to wear professional and elegant clothes during office hours, in consideration of social norms. However, no policy decision was taken in this regard, and no circular was issued in this regard.”

He said, “When this internal matter came to the notice of the honourable governor, who is abroad, through the media, he expressed his anger and, as per his instructions, the matter has been withdrawn at this time.”

When asked whether the previous instructions had been completely revoked, Arief told bdnews24.com, “This instruction has been completely revoked.”

The dress code had laid out guidelines for what officials and employees would wear and warned that failing to comply could lead to disciplinary action.

The circular, issued by the Human Resources Department-2 on Jul 21, instructs female staff to wear “modest” attire, explicitly advising against short-sleeved or short-length clothing and leggings.

Male staff have been directed to wear formal shirts with long or half sleeves, along with formal trousers and shoes. Wearing jeans or gabardine trousers has been disallowed.

As per the guidelines, female employees are allowed to wear saree, salwar-kameez with orna, or any other plain, modest, professional-coloured outfit. Simple headscarves or hijab are also permitted, along with formal sandals or shoes.

“Officials and employees of all levels must dress modestly and professionally, in line with the country’s social norms,” the directive read.

The policy had said it would apply across all departments, projects, units and divisions of the central bank.

On Wednesday night, Bangladesh Bank spokesperson Arief had said the circular was introduced to address the wide variation in attire across age groups and genders within the office, which he said sometimes created “psychological distance” between colleagues.

“The intent is to reduce those differences and improve interpersonal understanding among co-workers,” he added. “There is no obligation for female staff to wear hijab or burqa.

“More ornate dress styles are discouraged, while hijab and burqa are allowed.”

Arief also described the directive as advisory. “We hope this will not curtail anyone’s personal freedom of dress in the workplace.”