You're right, back when I was a kid in Chittagong, I didn't know what a hijab was, and only found about it in Canada. Burkas were seen among some (mostly rural people) though rarely, but Hijab was nowhere found. Now it is fairly common among the urban middle class and beyond. Religious orthodoxy has gone up in Bangladesh, like most of the Islamic world (dismantling of pan-Arabism in the Arab world, post General Zia Pakistan, Erdogan-led Turkey etc). Now, strong displays of religiosity is 'cool' for the middle class, and no longer confined to sections of the lower and upper classes. Hijabs are far more common among the urban middle class by far than in the less economically sound rural areas. Atheism has also gone up among sections of the society, as other sections have double down on religion. I don't think these developments are negative or positive, and as long as the state roots out fanaticism from both factions, and maintains a secular attitude towards governance we are on the right track. We must catch up to the developed world, before we can bark about our ideological stances on anything. Thankfully, Bangladesh has learned that, but it seems a lot of our neighbours have not fully embraced it.
