The High Court today questioned the legality of a condition imposed by Bangladesh Bank (BB) in a job circular asking the married female candidates for the post of assistant director (general) to mention their husbands’ residential addresses as their permanent addresses in the application forms.

The court issued a rule asking the respondents to explain in four weeks the condition imposed by the central should not be declared without lawful authority.

In the rule, the respondents have been asked to show cause why they should not be ordered to ensure that policy to address gender-based discrimination is adopted in BB and to provide training to its all staff to ensure gender equality and remedies of gender-based discrimination in the bank.

Secretaries to the ministries of public administration, commerce, and finance (finance division), deputy governor and general manager of the human resources department of BB have been made respondents to the rule.

The bench of Justice JBM Hassan and Justice Md Khairul Alam came up with the rule following a writ petition filed by rights organisations—Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) and Nari Pakkha challenging the legality of a condition imposed by BB authorities in the job circular.

The central bank issued the job circular on December 1 inviting applications from the candidates for the posts of assistant director (general). 

In clause 14 of the circular, the BB authorities asked the married female candidates to mention their husbands’ residential addresses as their permanent addresses in the application form.

BLAST and Nari Pakkha submitted the writ petition to the HC on December 30 challenging the legality of the clause 14 of the circular.

In the petition, they said the circular has violated articles 28 and 29 of the constitution as article 28 contradicts any kind of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth and article 29 has guaranteed equal opportunity in public employment.

Advocate Aynun Nahar Siddiqua, Advocate SM Rezaul Karim and Advocate Ayesha Aktar appeared for the petitioners.