National Film Award-winning actress Azmeri Haque Badhan has strongly reacted to the recent controversy surrounding a now-withdrawn dress code imposed by Bangladesh Bank on its female employees.
The directive, which restricted female staff from wearing sleeveless tops, short dresses, and leggings at work, sparked a wave of criticism on social media. Many users condemned the move as a form of gender-based control. Following the public outrage, the dress code was withdrawn earlier today.
Taking to Facebook, Badhan expressed her frustration over society’s constant interference in women’s clothing choices. “No one has the right to tell me what to wear, say, think, or how to live. That is my decision alone,” she wrote.
Badhan shared how societal pressure had shaped her early life. “I was once a brilliant, kind little girl who always dressed as expected — according to what my parents or society thought was ‘decent’. I didn’t wear jeans as a teenager because society believed only ‘bad girls’ did.”
She reflected on her personal transformation after leaving an abusive marriage and entering the Lux Channel i Superstar competition in 2006. “That experience helped me discover myself — not just as a woman, but as a human being.”
She also recalled being asked to cover her shoulders during a TV interview for wearing a sleeveless blouse. “Over the years, I’ve been told how I should dress — as a mother, a ‘sensible woman’, or a daughter from a conservative family. But I don’t care anymore. I am free.”
In her post, Badhan criticised society’s obsession with controlling women. “It is your own actions that determine your path — not your control over others, and certainly not over women.”
