The Bangladesh government has indefinitely closed all public and private universities in response to escalating student protests against the country’s job quota system. The decision follows violent clashes that left six people dead and scores injured.
On Wednesday, police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse students protesting in Dhaka, a day after confrontations with the Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student wing of the ruling Awami League party. The protests began over public sector job quotas, which reserve 30% of positions for descendants of 1971 War of Independence fighters.
Authorities have deployed paramilitary Border Guard units and riot police around Dhaka University, where students continued to protest, carrying coffins in solidarity with the deceased. “We will not let our brothers’ blood go in vain,” they chanted.
The protests intensified after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, daughter of independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, refused to meet the protesters’ demands and labeled them “razakar,” a term for those who collaborated with the Pakistani army during the war.
The unrest has spotlighted Bangladesh’s high youth unemployment rate, with nearly 32 million young people not in work or education out of a population of 170 million. Experts attribute the dissatisfaction to stagnant private sector job growth, making government positions more desirable.
Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud accused the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its Islamist ally Jamaat-e-Islami of inciting violence. International rights groups, including Amnesty International and the United Nations, have urged the government to protect peaceful protesters.
Additional violence was reported nationwide, including in Dhaka, where students blocked a bridge, causing a 10 km-long traffic jam. Police also dispersed stone-throwing BNP activists with tear gas.
As the first major challenge to Hasina’s government since her fourth consecutive term began in January, the situation remains volatile, with the potential for further clashes.
