By Shahenoor Akther Urmi, freelance journalist
In August 2024, a generation known as Generation Z was in the media spotlight for using social media to overthrow the former prime minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina. Within a week the protest became the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement and youth from all universities and colleges joined forces to denounce what they called a system based on discrimination. Among them was Esha Dey, a 23-year-old student who actively led the movement during the protest.
Activists are no ‘Razakar’
As a student Esha has been involved in various movements, including in a series of public protests in the Chittagong region in 2018 advocating to improve road safety. This action followed the deaths of two high school students in Dhaka in an accident involving a bus operated by an unlicensed driver. As a college student, Esha protested the killing of a student called Nusrat who was doused in kerosene and set alight on a school rooftop after accusing her school principal of sexual harassment.
Despite her engagement, Esha realised that all the movements and demonstrations she took part in had been hijacked by government allies. In the end, nothing changed.
In the summer of 2024 when the protest started against reservations in civil service jobs for family members of the veterans of the 1971 independence war, Esha shared several posts on her social media accounts, but nothing more. Her motivation was gone. She felt helpless. But the tone of the demonstrations shifted.
The prime minister (PM) who ruled the country for 15 years called the protesters ‘Razakar’, a term which is considered derogatory as it refers to those who supported Pakistan’s operations to quell Bangladesh’s liberation war.
PM Hasina underestimated how much anger there was among the public and the anti-quota student movement. Her attitude towards the people made them stronger. And the second-year student in the Music Department at the University of Chittagong (CU), Esha thought this time, things might change.
The butterfly effect
“I was observing the protest on social media where everybody was posting comments and ideas, thoughts and solidarity messages. I actively joined the protest when I saw that the participation of the students was increasing. We created a messenger group for girls named ‘Butterfly’” she said.
“The group had 200 members and it soon became a crucial medium for us all. Members shared their programme themes, places, schedules and activities and also helped to connect with people.”
Social media was the most popular place to share information and to find out what was happening in other parts of the country, along with the rest of the world.
When online communications became a battleground for all
The turning point of the anti-quota student movement was when a 25-year-old student named Abu Sayeed, from Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur, was shot dead by police officers. It went viral.
The incident happened on July 16, when the movement was still in its early days with only sporadic attention from the public. After the video was shared on Facebook, millions of people responded to a call to action, including students from schools and public-private universities, making it a decisive moment in the protest which influenced the overall movement.
The death of Abu Sayeed followed an explosion of negative public sentiment toward the ruling party and the expansion the student protests across the country.
Following the clashes, the coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement announced their demand for the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Cabinet. The demand spread through social media promptly and the prime minister resigned on 5th August and fled the country.
Citing the experiences of the last three months as dissatisfying, Esha said that ‘only the leaders have changed not the system’.
People joined the movement because they wanted to see changes in the prices of daily commodities, financial conditions, freedom of expression and assembly. But with little changing, Esha believes that a fair election might usher in hope of a new chapter for Bangladesh.
Picture from https://www.shutterstock.com/fr/g/MDSABBIR
Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Media Diversity Institute. Any question or comment should be addressed to [email protected]
