Bangladesh remains polarized 1 year since Hasina's ouster

Sheikh Hasina resigned as Bangladesh's long-serving prime minister in August 2024 after weeks of deadly protests that started over a controversial quota system for government jobs, but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

Hasina fled to India, while other members of her Awami League party were either arrested in connection with the protests or went into hiding.

Today, in the country's capital, Dhaka, the main office of the powerful opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Hasina rival and former prime minister Khaleda Zia, is a hub of activity.

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Many BNP members, including Zia, who had been imprisoned on charges including graft, vandalism and violence — which the BNP says were politically motivated during Hasina's 15-year tenure — are now free.  

Abdus Salam, a prominent BNP leader, told DW that the only change he sees since Hasina fled to India in August 2024 is political freedom.

"We were in hiding during this time last year. We were not able to stay in our homes. We were facing numerous court cases. We didn't have a normal life. That suffering may have ended," Salam told DW.

In another busy Dhaka street, Ambia, a garment factory worker, told DW that, while she admires the students who led last year's uprising to bring change in her country, she said her expectations have not yet been met.

"I hoped that the anarchy would end, and that people wouldn't politicize every incident," Ambia told DW. "The political parties create many issues whenever something happens. I didn't expect that. The feeling of security hasn't returned yet."

The interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, a former banker and prominent economist, had been aiming to hold elections in April next year, saying it needed time to implement constitutional reforms, changes to the electoral process, and progress in judicial independence and press freedoms.

However, Yunus' administration did not rule out a possibility of polls in February, which has been demanded by the BNP and its allies. 

Rights violations and rise of Islamists

Bangladesh has seen some economic progress, but human rights remain a concern.

London-based rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that the Yunus-led interim government is "falling short" on its promise to improve human rights in Bangladesh.

"Some of the fear and repression that marked Sheikh Hasina's Awami League Party's 15-year rule, and abuses such as widespread enforced disappearances, appear to have ended," according to HRW.

"However, the interim government has used arbitrary detention to target perceived political opponents and has yet to deliver systemic reforms to protect human rights."

"The hope of the thousands who braved lethal violence a year ago when they opposed Sheikh Hasina's abusive rule to build a rights-respecting democracy remains unfulfilled," said Meenakshi Ganguly, HRW's deputy Asia director.

At the same time, Islamist parties have increased their visibility since Hasina's ouster.

The Yunus government also withdrew a ban on the country's largest Islamist party last August, reversing a decision by the Hasina government.

An influential Islamist group's rally drew thousands to the streets of Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, in May. As many as 20,000 people turned out to show support for the Hefazat-e-Islam group that laid out a list of demands for Bangladesh's interim government.

They opposed government proposals that include equal inheritance rights for women, a ban on polygamy, and recognition of sex workers as laborers.

'Significant progress' on reducing rights violations

Foyez Ahammad, senior assistant press secretary of the interim government, told DW that HRW's expectation of reducing human rights violations to zero may not have been achieved, but significant progress has been made towards reducing it.

"HRW has expressed its dissatisfaction [with] many issues as their expectation after the era of Sheikh Hasina didn't meet to the level they expected," Ahammad said.

"Bangladesh was in a condition of massive human rights violations, where hundreds of secret prisons were operating, and enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings happened," he added, noting that press freedom "went down to zero" under Hasina's rule.

"We have made progress from that situation within a short period. For example, media houses that were closed down in the past reopened," added Ahammad, who said that ordinary people are expressing their opinions openly, including on social media.

"They are even criticizing the government in state-run broadcasters, which didn't happen in the past," he said.

Hasina's supporters, however, do not agree with these claims and point to a crackdown on their party under the interim government.

Hasina's uncertain future

Yunus' interim government has banned all political activities of Hasina's Awami League until a special tribunal completes a trial of the party and its leaders over the deaths of hundreds of people during last year's mass uprising. 

Following the ban, senior Awami League politician Mohammad A. Arafat claimed Yunus was trying to "keep his unconstitutional regime in power and delay elections."

Speaking to DW from an unknown location in May, the former information minister said Yunus was trying to secure the support of Islamists and the National Citizens' Party — which spearheaded the move against the Awami League — by banning the former ruling party.

"The only way the Islamists can make their way into parliament is by banning AL," Arafat said.

The tribunal against Hasina, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun has set August 3 and 4 for the prosecution's statement.

Economic stabilization

Despite the human rights situation, the interim government has made some economic progress. It has announced training programs for young people and courted foreign investment to create jobs.

Bangladesh, the world's second-largest garment supplier, on Friday secured a 20% tariff on exports to the United States — down from the 35% initially proposed by US President Donald Trump.

The 20% rate, which will come into effect on August 7, is comparable to Bangladesh's key apparel-sector competitors such as Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Pakistan, and Indonesia, which received rates between 19% and 20%.

Edited by: Keith Walker