Office hours during Ramadan
I note that the government of Bangladesh has announced that office hours for government and semi-government institutions during the month of Ramadan will be from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm with a 15 minute break at 1:00pm for Zohr prayers. Clearly, this arrangement is meant for Muslims, especially those choosing to fast. Since there are some 20 million non- Muslims in the country, many of whom are employed in government and semi-government offices on equal footing with Muslims, one wonders how would they abide by the new hours. The new hours are surely unfair to them. The 15 minute break for Zohr prayers is obviously not meant for them and is not long enough as a lunch break. It is not only reasonable that there should be a separate set of rules for these employees, it is also required under the constitutional obligations of the government to treat all citizens equally.
Why not let the non-Muslim employees, and non-fasting Muslims, to continue to follow the old office hours, while fasting Muslims follow the new?
The fact that this has not been considered before is no ground for not doing so now.
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