On August 5th, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, was forced to resign and flee the country in response to the nationwide student-led protests demanding that she step down as the head of government.

After fleeing her residence by helicopter, celebrations began across Dhaka, the country’s capital, in response to the end of her 20 years as head of the government.

The day after, student protest leaders met with the army chief, General Waker-Uz-Zaman, who announced the military would form an interim government. Furthermore, the president of Bangladesh, Mohammed Shahabuddin, dissolved parliament and released former prime minister and opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia from prison.

The protests that ultimately forced Hasina to flee were in response to the government reinstating the quota-based recruitment system for government and civil service jobs, which offer higher pay and greater benefits than employment in the private sector.

This system of recruitment required that a percentage of civil service jobs must be taken by different marginalised groups. This included the descendants of the freedom fighters from the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, when Bangladesh became an independent state from Pakistan. Following its independence, the Bangladesh Awami League, the ruling political party, established a quota system to hire various marginalised groups, along with a requirement that 30% of roles be taken by former freedom fighters. The requirement continued past the liberation war, eventually including the descendants of the freedom fighters in the quota.

The nature of this system meant that only 44% of potential recruits were based on merit and competence, which caused criticism that the system was discriminatory. This sparked an initial movement in 2018 to reform the quota system by reducing the recruitment of freedom fighter descendants significantly, as that requirement unfairly benefited the ruling Awami League party, which was founded by those who fought in the liberation war.

The 2018 movement initially resulted in Prime Minister Hasina ordering the abolition of the quota system in 2020. However, on June 5th of 2024, the Bangladesh High Court overturned the decision based on it being illegal. Students protested this decision to the Prime Minister, who refused to meet their demands and cited the court proceedings. She additionally referred to the protesters as “Razakar”, the name of a para-military group that fought on for West Pakistan during the liberation war.

The protests began on July 1st with peaceful demonstrations by students and teachers from various public and private universities, which became nationwide as student protesters organized under the ‘Anti-Discrimination Student Movement’. The initial demand was the restructuring of the quota-based recruitment system to a merit-based one, which would be fair for all candidates regardless of political party affiliations.

Throughout July and the beginning of August, however, the protests rapidly escalated into an anti-authoritarian movement as the government responded with violent repression. Violence was instigated with the involvement of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of the Awami League which the party.

On the 15th of July, the general secretary of the Awami League stated that the Chhatra League was ready to give a ‘fitting reply’ for the protesters ‘arrogant behaviour’.

Members of the BCL began attacking protesters on university campuses across the country, causing protesters to call for demonstrations in all educational institutions, leading to the involvement of the police who brutally repressed protesters. By the 20th of July, over 100 protesters had been killed by the police, with the government cutting off the internet, closing universities and implementing a curfew.

On the 21st of July, the government initially met with student protest representatives to increase merit-based recruitment from 44% to 93%, leading to a pause in the protests. However, protests resumed on the 29th of July after the Government failed to meet renewed demands to release protest leaders, with protesters demanding Hasina to resign. By August 4th, thousands of people protested in Dhaka square, where police and military violence resulted in the deaths of at least 100 more protesters, until the 5th when Hasina was ultimately forced to resign.

The brutal actions of the government and BCL have been described as “the worst violence since Bangladesh was founded.” The police, the BCL and the military killed around 300 , and left thousands injured. However, the end of Prime Minister Hasina’s rule and the Awami League could have positive implications for human rights in Bangladesh. Along with the significant reduction in quota requirements, the end of the Awami League has positive implications as well. The party has long been described as authoritarian, with it repressing its political opposition in the press, promoting political nationalism, and attempting to delegitimise other political parties’ contribution to the liberation war. However, with the departure of Hasina and the Awami League, the danger of Bangladesh remaining authoritarian remains.

With the military in control of the interim government, it is unclear whether a new government will improve upon the Awami League’s faults.

Note: All facts, figures, and other information are correct to the date of publication.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons