Consider This from NPR Bangladesh's student protestors are now helping to run the country
Aug 20, 2024
07:52
Earlier this month, student protestors filled the streets of Dhaka, Bangladesh, in opposition to a controversial quota system for government jobs.
Authorities then cracked down on demonstrators, blocking internet access, imposing a curfew and issuing police officers a shoot-on-sight order. In just over a month, more than 600 people have been killed.
And as the protests escalated, the demonstrations started to become about much more than just the quota system.
Eventually, students were able to force Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign.
The students who ousted Hasina are now helping to lead Bangladesh.
"We youth are not only the generation of Facebook, YouTube and Instagram," says 19-year-old protestor Mumtahana Munir Mitti.
"We also love our country. And we also love to participate in [the] rebuilding of our country."
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Authorities then cracked down on demonstrators, blocking internet access, imposing a curfew and issuing police officers a shoot-on-sight order. In just over a month, more than 600 people have been killed.
And as the protests escalated, the demonstrations started to become about much more than just the quota system.
Eventually, students were able to force Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign.
The students who ousted Hasina are now helping to lead Bangladesh.
"We youth are not only the generation of Facebook, YouTube and Instagram," says 19-year-old protestor Mumtahana Munir Mitti.
"We also love our country. And we also love to participate in [the] rebuilding of our country."
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy