Power To The People: Bangladesh’s Reform Movement
Thousands of Bangladeshi students protested against the quota system, and now their future looks different. What’s next for the nation?
Since June, students in Bangladesh have been protesting the discriminatory quota-based system for government jobs.
The Supreme Court ruled that 30% should be given to the descendants of freedom fighters, reversing a decision to reform the quota system from 2018.
Around 300 people have been killed in the protests after police brutality, which has shocked and further angered the demonstrators.
Initially an anti-quota protest, it encompassed the nation in an anti-government movement and called for an end to Sheik Hasina’s reign and premiership.
Citizens from all walks of life joined the movement, and the pressure on the Awami League, Hasina’s Party, increased.
The Founding Father
In the early hours of the day, March 26, 1971, Bangladesh declared its independence from Pakistan.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman addressed the nation as its new leader and served from its freedom in 1971 up to his death in 1975.
Despite his honour as the ‘Bangabandhu’ (friend of Bangladesh), his presidency remains a topic of controversy; he was charismatic and keen on ensuring the newly formed country’s security and forming friendly alliances with the world, including India.
He spearheaded the Constitution of Bangladesh alongside Dr Kamal Hossain. The country’s supreme law included principles of nationalism, democracy, socialism, and secularism, though it was removed in 1977 as Islam was declared the national religion.
Yet, his economic mismanagement, countless human rights violations, and authoritarianism made him unpopular amongst some citizens, and today his party is viewed as a personality cult.
Almost the entire Sheikh family was assassinated in 1975, apart from Mujibur’s two daughters, Hasina and Rehana, who were in Germany at the time.
They lived in exile for six years, but Sheikh’s oldest daughter, Hasina, would return and follow in his footsteps.
Out of office
Having served a combined total of 20 years, Sheikh Hasina was Bangladesh’s longest-serving prime minister.
Over the years, her premiership experienced political turmoil as the Awami League faced opposition from nationalist parties. The country’s economy began to grow, though the state remained turbulent.
Bangladesh experienced a democratic backslide, much like under Sheikh Mujibur.
“We are witnessing so much corruption,” Dr Samina Luthfa said, a sociology professor at Dhaka University, speaking to the BBC. “Especially among those close to the ruling party. Corruption has been continuing for a long time without being punished.”
According to reports by Human Rights Watch, Hasina’s government was responsible for several enforced disappearances and killings of politicians and journalists who were vocal against her.
Domestically, the people of Bangladesh were dissatisfied with her close relationship with India. Part of the anti-government sentiment comes from her and Modi’s friendship, and she’s seen as the gateway for foreign interference by the state.
Though, since her self-exile on August 5, it seems her ally-ship with India has provided a haven for her.
People Power
In June, a group of students began protesting the job quota that reserved some of the best jobs for descendants of freedom fighters.
Just a few months later, the Bangladeshi government was overwhelmed by protesters across the streets of Dhaka.
They called for an end to the system, and slowly began unfurling Hasina’s iron grip as they marched the streets of the capitol in large numbers.
Hasina’s decreasing popularity was accelerated by decisions to cut off communication by phone and social media connecting the country to the rest of the world.
And also, the police response to managing the demonstrations.
In brutal strikes, at least 300 people were killed during the height of the movement, the largest number since the Liberation War.
“My mother fainted … and after seeing him I couldn’t [say] anything, I just had to cry.”
Dipto, ABC News
Mr Mahmudur Rahman (known as Dipto) spoke to ABC news after his brother was killed in the protests.
25-year-old MBA student Mahfuzur Rahman was shot in the head as a result of police brutality against the protesters.
Mahfuzur was sympathetic to the students and often went out to provide water and snacks to the others.
A bullet hit him as he rested on the side of the road.
Hopelessly, his future was taken from him, and he is succeeded by his brother and their parents.
“My father warned him, if it turns [political], don’t go there. But if you want to help the people, you can help the people,” Dipto said.
The movement in the small nation led to some big changes.
People realised their anger at the lack of jobs for all, declining civil liberties, and continued struggle for higher quality of living.
Hasina may have overseen one of the quickest economic growths in Asia, but socially, the country was on edge.
And it was only a matter of time before the government crumbled under the might of the people.
New tides
So, what’s next for Bangladesh’s government?
Since Hasina’s self-exile and the collapse of her disgraced party, new candidates to take the mantle of leader in Bangladesh have emerged.
The current government — an interim government — is led by Dr Muhammad Yunus.
A man with a Nobel Peace Prize attached to his name, the Bangladeshi politician and entrepreneur was bought in at the request of the country’s President, Muhammad Shahabuddin.
In his first major address to the world, he noted that “hundreds of thousands of our valiant students and people rose up against the brutal dictatorship of Sheikh Hasina”, and vows to investigate their deaths.
Despite his support from the students and citizens, other groups are worried.
Cox’s Bazar, a beach found along the west coast of Bangladesh is also known as the world’s largest refugee camp, home to over 1 million Rohingya Muslims.
Arriving with war related injuries, the MSF charity found that 40% of the injured refugees were women and children.
As the war in the Rakhine State intensifies, more displaced Rohinyas are fleeing.
“We need the sustained efforts of the international community for Rohingya humanitarian operations and their eventual repatriation to their homeland, Myanmar, with safety, dignity and full rights,” he said.
Dr Muhammad Yunus, policy address.
As for students in the disrupted nation, they’ve returned to school.
Trying to fins a new normal, the students resume their studies as Yunus makes moves to steer democratic reforms.
What will come next can only be told by the people of Bangladesh; their nation now free from a 15-year iron rule.
