See: The story of Sheikh Hasina
Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year tenure as Bangladesh’s prime minister resulted in chaos on August 5, 2024, when she left the nation after failing to quell lethal protests in opposition to her rule since July. Hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshis took to the streets, waving flags and celebrating the second.
As soon as a well-liked chief, Sheikh Hasina is now dealing with life in exile. However this isn’t the primary time she has confronted monumental adversity. She is the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, who stood as much as Pakistan’s navy may and launched a liberation motion within the then East Pakistan.
He performed a decisive function within the formation of the Awami League, which got here to energy after the creation of Bangladesh following the 1971 India-Pakistan warfare. He was assassinated on 15 August 1975 and the navy took over. Eighteen individuals, together with members of his household, have been killed. Nevertheless, Hasina and her sister survived.
In 1987, Hasina allied with Khaleda Zia to tackle navy ruler Mohammed Ershad and convey democracy to Bangladesh. Zia is the spouse of navy officer and former Bangladeshi ruler Ziaur Rahman, who was assassinated in 1981. In 1990, the Hasina-Khaleda duo mobilised tons of of hundreds of individuals in Dhaka and compelled Ershad to resign on 4 December 1990. Elections have been held in February 1991 and the Bangladesh Nationalist Occasion, led by Zia, received the election and Hasina turned the primary opposition chief.
She turned prime minister in 1996 and returned to energy in 2008. Throughout her lengthy tenure, which lasted simply over fifteen years, she targeted on the financial system and helped the textile and garment industries thrive. Poverty declined and human improvement outcomes improved throughout many dimensions. Nevertheless, Bangladesh’s financial system was hit exhausting by the COVID-19 pandemic. It suffered from a extreme greenback scarcity, limiting its means to import items and driving up inflation. Financial development slowed and unemployment rose.
Over the many years, Bangladesh has seen a number of protests and riots, however Hasina’s authorities has suppressed them. The federal government has additionally cracked down on the opposition. Zia was positioned underneath home arrest forward of the 2014 election, prompting most opposition events to boycott the polls. Hasina received 234 seats in these elections.
In 2018, Zia was sentenced to 5 years in jail for a corruption case, a sentence that was later prolonged to 10 years. Due to this conviction, she was banned from working for election and Hasina received once more, with 96% of the vote. She received a fourth consecutive time period in 2024, however the opposition boycotted these elections. Certainly, a number of international locations, together with the USA and the UK, expressed their considerations concerning the holding of those elections.
Hasina was as soon as once more challenged: this time it was college students who demanded {that a} controversial quota granted to the kids of freedom fighters be abolished. They freely known as on her to resign. Bangladesh’s Supreme Court docket partially abolished the quotas, however that did not quell the protests. With this, she is as soon as once more dealing with a life in exile.
Script and manufacturing: V Nivedita
Voiceover: Sharmada Venkatasubramanian
