By Sheikh Mohammed Belal
In Bangladesh, everything looks new after the Gen Z revolution. A new era is forming in Bangladesh after protests drove out the premier and forced her to flee the country. After 20 years in power, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned and fled Bangladesh amid widespread protests, with her government’s violent crackdown on dissent killing several hundred people and fuelling public anger.
This movement showcases the power and influence of the younger generation in advocating for change and shaping the future of Bangladesh. What began as student demonstrations against job quotas quickly coalesced into a full-fledged people’s revolution leading to the dissolution of parliament and the release of opposition leaders.
Generation Z (those born from the mid-to-late 1990s to the early 2010s) made it possible to resign a government as powerful as it was. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who had been in power for 15 years and was seen as one of the most authoritarian governments in the world.
The resignation of Sheikh Hasina and the subsequent formation of an interim government, with Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus at the helm, marked a turning point in Bangladesh’s political landscape.
The students’ protests were initially against the quota system that reserved 30% of civil service posts for relatives of veterans of the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan. The system was seen as discriminatory and favouring supporters of the ruling Awami League activists.
The “Gen Z Revolution” in Bangladesh is not the first instance of youth-led movements in history, but it is one of the most significant in terms of its impact and the role of Generation Z. What sets the Bangladeshi movement apart is the demographic makeup of the protesters, with Generation Z playing a central role. This generation has grown up with technology and social media, which they’ve used effectively to organize protests and spread their message globally. It’s a powerful example of how the connectivity and digital savviness of Gen Z can lead to significant political change.
Professor Muhammad Yunus, often referred to as a “social guru,” is renowned for his pioneering work in microfinance and social business. His lifelong mission for poverty alleviation and his commitment to using business as a force for good, which resonates with many, especially among the younger generation seeking change.
He is the founder of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his efforts to create economic and social development from below. His philosophy centres around the belief that providing small loans to the poor can empower them to break the cycle of poverty. This approach, known as micro finance, has been influential globally, inspiring similar initiatives in various countries.
Moreover, Professor Yunus advocates for the concept of “social business” – businesses created to address social problems rather than to make profits for investors. This idea has gained traction as a sustainable way to address issues like poverty, healthcare, and education.
Before fleeing out from Bangladesh, fugitive Hasina did all she could to take away the very bank-Grameen Bank-that Professor Yunus helped establish. Once asked Muhammad Yunus, at the time, under relentless persecution by Hasina— why he didn’t just leave?
“Why continue in a country where the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, was threatening him with prison terms while making public statements about dunking him in the Padma River to teach him a lesson? “ he responded to the Voice of America (VOA).
“What I have done in Bangladesh is my life’s work,” he said the Voice of America. “It’s made a difference to the people of Bangladesh. I cannot just walk away from the things I have done. It’s not that it’s all done and finished. If I walked away, what happens to them? They’re abandoned! And what happens to all the work?” This week, that loyalty, that devotion to his native land, finally paid off.
But as the line from the Broadway musical “Hamilton” puts it, “Winning was easy … Governing’s harder.” After a prolonged period of autocracy, the elements and remnants of fascism are deep into the governance structure of Bangladesh.
With a population of about 170 million, Professor Yunus will have to deal with more that social business or microfinance. He needs to make significant reforms across the governance structures to restore trust in the new government he will lead.
As he wrote recently in The Economist, “No Bangladeshi younger than 30 has ever cast a vote in an unrigged national election. Over the past 15 years the government corrupted many of our institutions, most tragically the judiciary and education system, at all levels.”
Now, in an ironic turn of events, he is going to do the jobs so that all such irregularities are reformed to restore trust of the people of Bangladesh to the government.
The world needs Yunus to succeed. Giving Bangladesh a free and democratic government could lift millions out of poverty while setting a precedence for all hard-working people for a new beginning.
Indeed, Bangladesh’s Gen Z people’s revolution will add to the curricula of universities and educational institutions as it was organised with so much of unity and coordination, even at the time when internet was off and curfew was enforced, unprecedented in the recent history.
When Premier Hasina became a fugitive, it was students who took control of the country as virtually all Hasina appointed police run away to their own safety. Students managed traffic control to guarding the houses and religious icons of the minority Hindu community. Internet is swarmed with photos where students were seen performing all kinds of work along with the members of Bangladesh Army to make the country ready for a future that they behold in their chest.
Here’s the edited disclaimer for the end of the article:
The views expressed are entirely personal and do not reflect the position of the organization or institution with which the writer is affiliated.
