© Sina Marx ⁇ FEMNET Bangladesh in transition: Impressions of a trip in November 2024 In November 2024, FEMNET staff travelled to Bangladesh to visit partner organisations and understand the situation on the ground. The political and social tensions in the country have left visible traces, but there are also first signs of hope and change. Changed streetscape and the consequences of the protests Bangladesh's roads look a little different: It is noticeable that you hardly see any police officers, shops are less guarded, there is a certain uncertainty, but otherwise everything goes surprisingly quietly back to its course. Especially considering how dramatic the situation was in July and August. At that time, a wave of protests escalated, killing a total of 1,475 people, including 200 workers, and injuring around 150,000. 67 innocent children lost their lives as a result of police violence alone, nearly 11,000 people were arrested, and over 1,000 cases were charged.[i] The trigger was a planned quota system, according to which almost a third of the state authorities would have been kept free for so-called ‘freedom fighters’ from the independence struggle and their relatives, i.e. mainly for people around the ruling party. The then government president Hasina poured oil into the fire when she accused the students of being against the liberation movement and defamed them as rioters of the opposition parties, which led to the solidarity of hundreds of thousands. During the protests, a student was shot dead, after which the private universities also joined the protest. The attack on the youth outraged the people. For five days (20-25 July 2024) there was a state of emergency in which the government blocked the Internet and imposed a strict curfew. But this was only confirmed by the people: The protests peaked on August 5, when millions of people successfully demanded the resignation of the president. The Role of Police and Military The brutal repression by the police, mostly used by Sheikh Hasina, led to broad popular solidarity against the regime. Police stations were set on fire by angry people, with many police officers – rumours say 3000 police officers – also losing their lives. The military, on the other hand, sees itself as a truer of independence and was party-politically neutral and did not intervene in the protests. Many military personnel from Bangladesh are going to other countries for a mission to the UN Peace Brigade, which is highly respected and well-paid and now threatened to break away. Bangladeshis working abroad were also unable to transfer funds to their families. This, but above all the strong protests of large parts of the population, led the military to demand the resignation of Hasina, who fled the country on August 5. With her, many entrepreneurs of the business associations BGMEA and BKMEA as well as numerous parliamentarians left the country. Others were arrested, including the owner of one of the country's largest textile factories - BEXIMCO - who was finance minister under the former government. According to Kalpona Akter, director of BCWS, at least 10-15 other former ministers were arrested. At the same time, it became known that enormous sums were made abroad. It is estimated that this is around BDT 115 trillion (approximately EUR 1 billion), a loss that further weakens Bangladesh, already burdened by over-indebtedness and strong inflation. An interim government as a source of hope? The students called on the world-renowned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Prof. Mohammad Yunus to assume the leadership of an interim government. Yunus, who had been persecuted and defamed by Hasina, accepted the task. The new government consists of non-party academics, experts from various disciplines, but also two military personnel and three students as advisors. Ten committees, e.g. for labour rights, justice, anti-corruption and equality, were founded, which are currently occupied by renowned experts, former employees and NGOs. Leaders of FEMNET partner organisations have also been appointed to the Women's and Labour Commissions. The interim government and its ten committees face the daunting task of creating transparency, fighting corruption and reforming almost all sectors. Crimes committed by the RAB (Rapid Action Battalion) paramilitary intervention force - the disappearance of hundreds of people in the last 15 years - also need to be investigated. The challenges also remain enormous in the textile sector, the central economic factor. There are striking workers who have not received their wages for months. One 18 points plan, agreed by trade unions and the government in September 2024, includes demands for wage reform, the removal of blacklists of active workers, ending corruption in the sale of leftover clothing, compensation for lost wages and reviewing the allegations against workers from the last labour dispute when it came to raising the minimum wage. BGMEA maintains a database of employed workers, including a blacklist of protesting workers who no longer find employment after being laid off in other factories. Trade unions are calling for transparency and disclosure of this list. To what extent this 18 points of paper It will actually be implemented, it remains to be seen. But it is a glimmer of hope that the parties could agree on this paper. In addition, Yunus led to the release of many opposition activists in Dhaka. Many detainees were members of the opposition party BNP or the Muslim party Jamaat-e-Islami. Review of the Struggle for Wages As early as November 2023, during the National wage revision processThousands of garment workers in Bangladesh took to the streets to demand an end to poverty wages. Their involvement cost four of them their lives, over 130 people have been imprisoned and many are still on trial: Only because they have exercised their legal right to organize and demand decent pay. The new minimum wage of 12,500 BDT (about 100 euros) is one of the lowest in the world and hardly enough to live on. Even this wage is not yet paid in all factories. Prospects for the future: Where is Bangladesh headed? Bangladesh's political and social future remains uncertain. Almost everyone we spoke to said: “We don’t know where the journey is going. Two years or more may elapse before the new elections.” At present, it is assumed that a lot is happening in the background: While new political movements are forming, students are forming parties, and Islamic groups are strengthening, the traditional opposition party BNP is pushing for timely elections. German companies, which withdrew their orders in the summer, are now returning to Bangladesh. However, the uncertainty as to how things will continue remains now that factory owners are in prison or have settled abroad. Right now in this situation, however, Bangladesh's apparel industry needs secure orders. Also, German companies have not yet urged their producers to drop the charges against hundreds of workers from last year's wage struggles. Bangladesh is at a crucial stage. Whether the government overthrow can ultimately be used to lead to more stability, justice and freedom for garment workers remains to be seen. However, there is a slight hope. Author: Dr. Gisela Burckhardt source [i] Figures and other information were provided to us by our partner organisations NGWF, BCWS and BILLS. back
