BANGLADESH SCRAPS ‘SIR’ SALUTATION FOR WOMEN OFFICIALS UNDER CARETAKER GOVERNMENT
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Agency Report
Bangladesh’s caretaker government has annulled a controversial protocol that required women in official roles to be addressed as “sir,” describing it as an “odd” relic of the former administration of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The decision was announced in a statement released late Thursday by the press wing of the interim government, led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, who assumed leadership following a student-led uprising that toppled Hasina’s nearly 16-year rule.
“During Sheikh Hasina’s nearly 16-year-long autocratic rule, a directive was reportedly issued requiring public officials to address her as ‘sir’,” the statement read. “This practice extended to other high-ranking women officials, who were and still are being called ‘sir’, which is clearly odd.”
The interim government has formed a new committee to review and revise other protocol-related policies implemented under Hasina’s tenure.
However, some female bureaucrats have expressed concern over the abrupt nature of the change. Speaking anonymously to AFP, one woman official said, “The tradition began during Sheikh Hasina’s tenure, but many women officers supported it, finding the address gender-neutral.”
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Former Prime Minister Hasina, 77, fled to neighbouring India after being ousted and is currently facing multiple charges at Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal. The charges stem from her alleged role in a violent crackdown on anti-government protests in mid-2024 that, according to United Nations reports, resulted in up to 1,400 deaths.
Prosecutors allege that Hasina bore ultimate command responsibility for the deadly suppression.
The caretaker government has vowed to dismantle autocratic legacies and reform public service protocols to better reflect democratic values and gender sensitivity.
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