What’s Happening in Bangladesh and Why You Need to Care
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Bangladesh has been in turmoil for the last few weeks with protests and violence, making headlines worldwide. It started with a controversial quota system for government jobs and a brutal government crackdown on students who were peacefully protesting for their rights. Here’s what’s going on now and why it matters.
The Quota System
The unrest started with Bangladesh’s quota system for government jobs. This system reserves certain percentages of jobs for specific groups such as a small percentage for women, Indigenous people, and individuals with disabilities while a whopping 30% for descendants of freedom fighters from the 1971 Liberation War.
While the idea was to ensure fair representation, this system has made it more difficult for university graduates to get government jobs. With unemployment already rising among the youth, along with years of frustration against a government that has been in power for 15 years, allowing widespread corruption and silencing voices with brute force, this quota system was the last straw.
Peaceful Protests Met with Violence
Thousands of students took to the streets peacefully all over the country, asking for a fairer, merit-based job allocation. They felt that hard work and talent should be the main criteria for government positions. But the government’s response was anything but peaceful.
The prime minister of the country called the students razakarer bachha (children of traitors) on national television, further fueling the protests. The police and BCL — the violent student wing of her party attacked unarmed students with weapons, which has been a common tactic of the current government to maintain control. On the first day of violence, six protesters were killed. As the protests grew larger, the violence escalated, and the death toll rose to hundreds.
This isn’t a problem for people in some corner of the world; it is a human problem. The boldness of the students in Bangladesh echoes the universal truths of human dignity.
Silencing Voices
The government imposed an internet blackout that lasted a week and a strict military curfew that is still in place but has been slowly easing. This move cut off communication, isolating the protesters and creating confusion about what was going on. Bangladeshis all over the world were unable to contact their family members back home for days. Political parties with their agendas started to take advantage of the chaos. During this internet blackout, Bangladesh’s highest court reduced the quota for freedom fighters’ descendants from 30% to 5%, making most jobs available on merit. But it was too little, too late.
Even after internet services resumed, social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and YouTube remained intermittently banned. Those restrictions allowed misinformation to spread, making it difficult for protesters to communicate their plight to the rest of the world.
A New Focus: Justice
The students restarted their protests this week and they are no longer just about the job quota. People from all walks of life have joined the students and they are demanding justice for hundreds of students, including children, who have been shot, beaten, injured, killed, or arrested.
The people are no longer scared. They are sad, heartbroken, frustrated, angry, and resentful but not scared to stand up to this government. The country witnessed a similar government crackdown in 2018 when high school and university students peacefully protested for safer roads after the death of two teenagers caused by a speeding bus in Dhaka. But this time, a line has been crossed and it has reached a point of no return. They want the prime minister to step down and reform the entire political system.
Why This Matters
This isn’t a problem for people in some corner of the world; it is a human problem. The boldness of the students in Bangladesh echoes the universal truths of human dignity.
We must all stand by those who fight for a system where everyone gets a fair share.
The current situation in Bangladesh is one deeply embedded in socio-geo-political issues and a battle for human rights.
This could be the moment for the nation’s bright minds to unite and create a roadmap to reform the corrupt system. I hope this brings a political overhaul with positive changes only.
