Bangladesh 2.0

Bangladesh electioneering gets into full swing

Bangladesh 2.0 Sheikh Hasina ruled for 15 years by ruthlessly cracking down on dissent. Now, as Bangladesh prepares to hold its first free elections in almost two decades, ABC meets those who are determined to transform Bangladesh from a dictatorship into a democracy.
Bangladesh’s pivotal election is not until February, but campaigning has already begun. Tasnim Jara is one of the key members of the National Citizen Party, formed by students after the uprising to prevent old politics from taking hold, in the formation of what many call “Bangladesh 2.0”. To Jara, this state is “accountable to its citizens, upholds everybody’s rights, and does not kill or maim citizens with impunity”. But not everyone has the same dream for the new Bangladesh. Established political parties who had been sidelined during Hasina’s reign are coming back strong, the Bangladesh National Party, the traditional election favourite. Meanwhile, Conservative religious groups suppressed under the Hasina regime have re-emerged, protesting plans that would give equal rights to women; “those who establish… equal rights for men and women attack the laws of Allah”, laments one Hefazat member. The dream for the ‘new Bangladesh’ is radical, but is it realistic?
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