The Bangladesh government denied Nora Fatehi permission to perform in the capital city of Dhaka in a bid to save dollars as part of austerity measures. She was scheduled to perform and hand out awards at an event organised by the Women Leadership Corporation. According to a notice issued by Bangladesh’s cultural affairs minister on October 17, Nora was denied permission “in view of the global situation and with the aim of maintaining the foreign exchange reserves”.
The ministry referred to the central bank’s curbs on dollar payments amidst dwindling foreign exchange reserves which slipped to $36.3 billion as of October 12.