Bangladesh is a country that has long boasted its vibrant democracy even in the face of regional conflicts that for generations have ravaged the rest of the region with instability. Yet this exemplar of democracy and stability in South Asia has been slowly transitioning into an authoritarian country beset by instability.

As a professor of Law at the University of Dhaka, Asif Nazrul explains to Aljazeera that the current Bangladeshi prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, has sought a strategy defined “development minus democracy.” This governance model prioritizes consolidation of power to create change particularly economic change but in doing so undermines democracy and the principles of freedom.

Subsequently, under the Hasina rule there has been a surge in political prisoners and throughout the country freedom of the press is actively being threatened. The 2019 election found that Hasina’s party garnered 98 percent of the vote, this same level of ‘support’ is only seen in authoritarian countries and many opposition parties in Bangladesh have claimed the election was rigged. Moreover, it’s not just that this form of governance is dangerous in its authoritarian tendencies, it’s that it hasn’t had the economic success promised by Sheik Hasina and her party the Awami League.

Without the necessary funds, Bangladesh simply doesn’t have the capital necessary to administer basic government functions. Infrastructure a key area of investment for the Bangladeshi government has suffered immensely under dwindling resources, the world economic forum 2018 report on global competitiveness reports that comparatively Bangladesh now has the second-worst roads in Asia, primarily due to decreased investment in infrastructure.

Lacking infrastructure impacts aren’t confined to a poorer looking country it has human impacts, as in 2018 over 7,500 people died on Bangladeshi roads, due to anemic road conditions as well as lack of general road safety. This failure to carry out the most basic functions of government have been a notable stain on Sheikh Hasina and her administration. The root cause of insufficient funds can be linked back to a government becoming more authoritarian thus inciting instability, and the constituents of the Bangladeshi government are taking action to change the trajectory of Bangladesh. After two kids were killed by a bus swerving on poorly made roads back in July of 2018, millions of people have since then come together to protests the unsafe roads. But these protests are no longer simply over a lack of sturdy roads they directly aimed at a government that has failed its citizens both on an economic level and humanitarian level. Yet what makes these protests unique is that they carried out by Bangladeshis youth, so much so that the almost 18 million youth protesters in the capital of Dhaka have shut down the city and begun erecting checkpoints and allowing only emergency vehicles to enter the city. According to an anonymous source that works closely with the current protests, contextualized the status quo by saying that they feel that their hope the from these protests is an end to Hasina’s rule, “There is nothing the Hasina regime can do at this moment in time, as the anger will only be calmed if there is a resignation.”

The government does seem to be taking notice of students in school uniforms essentially running the capital of their country, as in 2018 Hasina released political prisoners in an effort to show the government will work towards collaboration and the government has promised more investment in areas like infrastructure. These words, however, may only be symbolic as real change in the form of policy coupled with structural reform has yet to come and words that appeal to people may not be enough to suppress the anger of Bangladeshi citizens. The question then comes whether their anger will have the impact they desire, and toppling the government through protest is unlikely however if mounting support for these protests continues the Hasina administration may come to the realization that their power as the government is over if citizens reject their governing.

We the students of Dhaka University have held protest aginst the crime and culprit who raped one of our sisters yesterday. Protest led by Chattra League. We demand immediately arrest and capital punishment of the culprit. pic.twitter.com/9JhRkUHNws — Suman Biswas (@SumanBi21366084) January 6, 2020

But funding is an economic issue, Bangladesh’s problems, however, extend to a humanitarian level. As a recent rape at one of Bangladesh’s top universities has sparked a new wave of protests, not just cause of the egregious crime itself but a systemic issue within the justice system. As only four percent of sexual assault is ever prosecuted. This inability to prosecute sexual assault is not just understaffing within Bangladesh’s department of justice but a broader culture that tolerates sexual assault. As an anonymous representative close to the group, Bring Bangladesh Justice, explained that “Sexual assault has become so widespread people take it as a way of life and because of that prosecutors don’t see any motive to prosecute it.” In order to solve this issue, it requires both people rejecting the culture, and prosecutors must respond to that shift in culture and begin prosecuting rape as the egregious crime it is.

Welcome to our new article series: The Year of Protests! 2019 has been a year filled with street protests from around the world, and no one has been able to figure out why. In this series, New Voice writers will analyze and explain these various protests going on in countries from around the world.

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