On 24 July 2025, Bangladesh Bank quietly withdrew an internal advisory on employee dress code following widespread public backlash. Though never formalized through an official circular, the advisory had urged employees to dress in a “professional and modest” manner, a phrase many criticized for its loaded social implications.
“For female employees, the directive advised avoiding short-sleeved or short-length dresses and leggings. However, no one has been required or forced to wear a hijab,” clarified Arif Hossain Khan, the bank’s spokesperson and Executive Director. When asked if any employee had previously worn “inappropriate” attire, he bluntly admitted, “No, no one did.” So why was such a directive issued? According to Khan, the bank has recently been onboarding 200–250 young university graduates per batch, some of whom, he claimed, still carry “university-like behavior.” The dress code, he said, was intended to promote “bonding” between junior and senior officers.
Yet beneath the language of professionalism and generational unity lies a more troubling reality. The advisory appeared in the HR Division’s recent monthly meeting minutes, specifically section 11(g) of a Benefits and Administration Wing resolution, stating that all staff (except C and D category employees in uniform) must dress in a way that is “socially appropriate, professional, and refined.” After media reports surfaced, Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder, currently abroad, reportedly expressed dissatisfaction with the move and ordered its immediate withdrawal.
But the issue didn’t end with retraction. The short-lived directive has sparked broader debate across the financial sector and beyond: who gets to define professionalism? Why is workplace appearance so heavily policed, and why does the burden of modesty still fall disproportionately on women and young recruits? For now, the advisory is shelved, but its emergence has once again exposed a deeper fault line in institutional culture: when respectability is enforced, it’s rarely just about clothing.
Source: The Business Standard
Date of Reporting: 24 July
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