Charlotte Carles | Indo Pacific Fellow
Protesters carry a member of the army on their shoulders as they celebrate Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's resignation, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Image sourced from Van Huy Nguyen via Flickr.
Demands for justice, police crackdown and a fleeing Prime Minister: Gen Z are changing history before our eyes. Student protestors did the impossible last month when their resistance movement ended the 15-year long reign of autocratic Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, daughter of former Bangladeshi President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Many young activists across the globe feel hopeless in the face of existential threats such as war, climate change and human rights abuses. Many doubt the substantive impact that protesting has on creating change. In the face of huge power structures, young people may feel small. But Bangladesh in August inspired us all by illustrating that youth are indeed more powerful than we may realise.
In 2018, Prime Minister Hasina’s government enacted reforms popular among young people, including ending Bangladesh’s public service quota that requires 30 percent of jobs to be reserved for descendants of freedom war veterans. However, tension between the student body and authorities began in mid-2024 when the Supreme Court overturned the 2018 repeal and reinstated the quota—reducing merit-based career opportunities for young people.
Protests against the quota emerged throughout the country and were initially peaceful. However, the Hasina government’s response to the student protestors was severe. In mid-July of this year, 1000 people were arrested while schools and universities were shut down. To date, around 300 people have been killed, signifying the country’s worst violence since the 1971 war against Pakistan for independence. The government shut down the internet in attempt to stop the protests and a national curfew was imposed. Authorities opened fire at crowds of protestors, who continued resisting.
On 21 July, the protestor’s demands were heeded when the Supreme Court significantly reduced the quota, meaning that 93 percent of public service jobs became merit based. However, the severe crackdown from the Hasina government had already escalated the movement into a broader (and more violent) protest against systemic corruption, abuses, crackdowns and alleged election fraud.
On 4 August, thousands of protestors in central Dhaka demanded Hasina's resignation. On 5 August, with incredible timing, Hasina fled Dhaka on 5 August mere minutes before protestors stormed her palace. In a win for democracy across the globe, the people’s loud rejection of their leader was heeded. The streets of Bangladesh have since erupted in celebration.
Since Hasina fled to India on 5 August, her longtime enemy, Muhammad Yunus, has been appointed interim leader of the country. Students, alongside previously incarcerated human rights activist Adilur Rahman Khan, were present at the swearing in ceremony, symbolic of the abrupt end of the Hasina era. The International Crimes Tribunal is currently attempting to extradite Hasina back from hiding in India to hold her accountable for the destruction.
Yunus has previously faced trial for alleged corruption amongst other legal issues. However, his appointment nonetheless signifies a new era in which Gen Z have claimed their seat at the table. In drastic contrast to Hasina’s violent condemnation, Yunus publicly congratulated the protestors. They have "made our second Victory Day possible," he praised. Yunus has since signed the UN Convention on Enforced Disappearances, an historic move signalling that hope is on the horizon.
While still unfolding, this is already an inspiring story of youth resistance against undemocratic government repression. Protestors didn’t only continue fighting despite suppression; they fought even harder because of it. Students in Bangladesh remained heroically steadfast in the face of military violence, inspiring the solidarity of student protestors across the globe. For young people throughout the Indo-Pacific and beyond, the success of student protestors in Bangladesh is a reminder that their voices should be heard. It seems that the regional implications of the Bangladeshi students’ fight are already being felt, with thousands of youths taking to the streets of Jakarta recently to fight for the rule of law. In Jakarta, like Bangladesh, student activism was so strong that it successfully resulted in the reversal of a new policy which was protested for being nepotistic.
Although Bangladesh is still deeply wounded from the autocratic violence, the change in leadership offers hope. The world will be watching Bangladesh closely at this crucial turning point in history as upcoming elections are sure to shape the country’s future.
Charlotte Carles is the Indo Pacific Fellow for Young Australians in International Affairs. Charlotte is a third year Bachelor of Laws (Honours) student from Fremantle and is currently living in the Indo Pacific region as a 2024 New Colombo Plan Scholar. She loves languages and is learning French, Spanish and Indonesian. As Indo Pacific Fellow, Charlotte intends to explore human rights and youth advocacy in the region.
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