August 19, 2024

A new day in Bangladesh

topic:	Economic Inclusion
tags:	#Bangladesh, #youth empowerment, #poverty, #protest
located:	Bangladesh
by:	Tim Prewitt

For the past few weeks, Bangladesh headlines have gripped the world. What started as peaceful protests against a quota system for government jobs, quickly turned into an overwhelming call for the departure of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Pressure mounted over weeks of deadly demonstrations, with an estimated 600 or more killed, and the Prime Minister fled the country.

The mix of euphoria along with looting and the ransacking of national monuments and government buildings has seemingly plunged the country into chaos. 

What sparked the protests was a contentious issue for the youth in the country: a quota system on preferential treatment for government employment, earmarked for descendants of the freedom fighters who liberated Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1971. The youth and other opponents to the quota system said it was discriminatory and that it favored Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party.

Even as the Supreme Court ordered the quotas to be cut significantly, Hasina’s government collapsed, and Nobel Peace Prize-winning Professor Muhammad Yunus was selected to lead an interim government. 

But in all of this uncertainty, there is cause for hope. 

Grassroots mobilisation

The organisation I work for, The Hunger Project, has been supporting civic engagement in Bangladesh for more than 30 years. In that time we’ve seen remarkable progress.

Most recently, the proportion of people unable to afford a healthy diet has decreased by nearly 17 per cent, and due to increasing economic opportunity, in 2015 Bangladesh rose to a lower-middle income country ranking. Much of this progress has come about from community mobilisation and people working for a better life. 

Students and young people have often led the charge. Three decades ago, a group of youth first came together in the county to serve as first responders during the 1991 cyclone, a major climatic event that reverberated throughout the country.

They created a movement called Youth Ending Hunger, which endures as an effective national platform for change.

Since its founding, countless participants have taken part in campaigns and social action projects that touch on topics including nutrition, education, environment and income generation.

The Hunger Project supports youth in identifying what they need to live as productive members of society, and Youth Ending Hunger is a powerful movement for progress. The Hunger Project works with approximately 100,000 youth, many of whom had leadership roles in the recent quota reform movement.

So it does not come as a surprise to see the youth of Bangladesh in the streets calling for a better life. They are a powerful, dynamic group, and deserve to be heard. While the images may look chaotic at times, we have also seen youth leaders step up to take on fundamental civic duties, such as directing traffic, protecting mosques and temples and preventing the chaos that followed the collapse of the government. They now are stepping in to ensure this interim government works for the people, and are on the frontlines fighting for their rights. 

This time will pass, and what emerges after the tumult, we hope, will be a better life for all Bangladeshis. While there is much influx at the moment in Bangladesh, we at The Hunger Project share the hope of the next generation. We also believe that women and youth leadership, community participation and an effective partnership between government and an engaged civil society will lead the country to a brighter future. 

Now, more than ever, The Hunger Project’s partnership with citizens and government leaders to improve governance, transparency and accountability is crucial. This crisis underscored the need for robust governance structures to ensure a strong democratic process is in place for the well-being of all citizens, which The Hunger Project, the largest volunteer-based organisation in the country, has been relentlessly pursuing for many years.

In spite of the chaos, it is an exciting time for Bangladesh. Let’s hope the promise of youth leadership - with its emphasis on equity and justice - carries the country forward in the months ahead. 

Tim Prewitt is CEO of The Hunger Project, a global nonprofit organisation that aims to create a world without hunger.

Image by MSI Sakib.