Drishtipat Blog

It appears that the Shahjalal Bank has made it mandatory for female employees to wear the headscarf. The decree was given yesterday, according to the Sachal blogger. I have not seen this story covered elsewhere, so I cannot vouch for its truthiness. Readers back home may have better information.

The question is - would such a move be legally permitted? At the very least, the decree would appear to discriminate against minority employees. Then again, if you were to go through the staff rolls of Shahjalal Bank, I wonder how many minority employees you would actually find.

Subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) discrimination against Hindu, Buddhist and Christian employees is commonplace in Bangladesh. But this move appears to institutionalize such discrimination. It is also further evidence of the creeping Islamization of the public sphere that started as far back as Zia/Ershad and which seems to be gaining pace with time, as its practitioners become more and more emboldened.

It’s almost enough to make one wish for the appearance of our own Ataturk.

What does the constitution have to say about this? In the West, such a move would be immediately hammered with lawsuits from all sides - bodies like the ACLU or Liberty exist to challenge such discriminatory practices. Does an outfit like the Ain O Shalish Kendro have a remit to look into the legality of this decree? Although I do not doubt that the merest whiff of a legal challenge will bring the bearded cave-dwellers out on to the streets, armed to the back-teeth and screaming Kaffir or Murtad at the top of their voices. O tempora, o mores.