Sheikh Hasina, who was once praised for rescuing Bangladesh from military rule, has her 15-year long reign ended by protesters attacking the Dhaka palace on Monday. A rising chorus demanding her resignation brought to an end Hasina’s long rule characterized by economic growth and crackdowns.
Sheikh Hasina is the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of Bangladesh. At the age of 27, in a military coup in 1975, she lost her three brothers, mother and father. Leaving Bangladesh six years later, she became head of Awami League party after several house arrests of a decade-long struggle. In ousting army ruler Hussain Muhammad Ershad in 1990, besides Khaleda Zia from Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), has a role to play.
First took over as prime minister in 1996 but lost it to Zia five years later. They were both imprisoned for embezzlement charges following a military-backed uprising in 2007 but were set free to run for office again during the 2008 polls that Hasina won comfortably. She has held on since then, being re-elected controversially in January for her fifth time amid claims of election fraud.
During her tenure as prime minister, there was significant economic growth in Bangladesh mainly driven by its garment export industry. Since then (in) economy has grown at an average annual rate exceeding six percent with millions lifted out of poverty and access provided through electricity to more than 95 percent of people. By 2021 per capita income of Bangladesh had surpassed that of India.
However harsh tactics have been attributed to Sheikh Hasina’s regime. Her government drew widespread international criticism for human rights violations including mass arrests against political foes and execution orders targeting prominent Islamists. The United States imposed sanctions on seven high-ranking officers within an elite Bangladeshi security force brigade for systemic violence committed this year.
Initially started in July by university students protesting against the civil service job quotas, the demonstrations quickly turned into a wider movement calling for Sheikh Hasina to resign. The situation escalated last month when police and pro-government student groups violently attacked demonstrators.
But all her efforts to defend her legacy, even as she toured areas affected by violence, were mere attempts at clinging onto power. “This country I have built over 15 years,” she argued. However, this autocracy and inability to tolerate dissent resulted in her own undoing.
