Bangladesh’s pro-democracy-turned-dictatorship icon

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina Wazed, has resigned and left the country after weeks of student-led protests turned into deadly chaos across the country.

The 76-year-old fled by helicopter to India, reports said, as thousands of protesters stormed his residence in the capital Dhaka.

This brings an unexpected end to the reign of Bangladesh’s longest-serving Prime Minister, who has been in power since 2009 and ruled the country for more than 20 years in total.

Credited for overseeing the economic progress of the South Asian country in recent years, Ms Hasina began her political career as a pro-democracy symbol.

However, in recent years he has been accused of turning dictatorial and asserting any opposition to his rule. Politically motivated arrests, disappearances, extrajudicial killings and other abuses have increased under Ms Hasina.

In January he won an unprecedented fourth term as Prime Minister in a January election widely criticized by critics as fraudulent and rigged by the opposition.

Born into a Muslim family in East Bengal in 1947, Ms Hasina had politics in her blood.

His father was the country’s leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the “Father of the Nation” of Bangladesh who led the country’s independence from Pakistan in 1971 and became its first president.

At that time, Mrs. Hasina had made a name for herself as a student leader at Dhaka University.

His father was killed along with many members of his family during a coup d’état in 1975. Only Ms. Hasina and her younger sister survived as they were traveling abroad at the time.

After living in exile in India, Ms Hasina returned to Bangladesh in 1981 and became the leader of her father’s political party, the Awami League.

He joined hands with other political parties to hold street protests in support of democracy during the military regime of General Hussain Muhammed Ershad. Inspired by the rebellion, Ms Hasina quickly became a national icon.

He was first elected to the state in 1996. He gained fame by signing a water-sharing agreement with India and a peace agreement with tribal rebels in the country’s southeast.

But at the same time, his government was criticized for a number of business deals that were allegedly corrupt and for being too beholden to India.

He was later defeated by his former opponent, Begum Khaleda Zia of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), in 2001.

As heirs to political dynasties, both women dominated Bangladeshi politics for more than three decades and were often known as “battling begums”. Begum refers to a high-ranking Muslim woman.

Observers say their fierce rivalry has led to bus bombings, disappearances and extrajudicial killings becoming a regular occurrence.

Ms. Hasina was finally returned to office in 2009 in an election that was held under the ruling government.

As a true political activist, he endured multiple arrests while protesting and several assassination attempts, including one in 2004 that damaged his hearing. He also survived attempts to force him to be deported and many court cases where he was accused of corruption.

Bangladesh under Ms. Hasina presents the opposite picture. The Muslim-majority nation, once one of the poorest countries in the world, has achieved reliable economic success under his leadership since 2009.

It is now one of the fastest growing economies in the region, outpacing even its biggest neighbor India. Per capita income has tripled over the past decade and the World Bank estimates that more than 25 million people have been lifted out of poverty over the past 20 years.

Much of this growth has been fueled by the garment industry, which accounts for the bulk of Bangladesh’s exports and has expanded rapidly in recent decades, supplying markets in Europe, North America and Asia.

Using state capital, loans and development aid, Ms Hasina’s government has undertaken major infrastructure projects, including the $2.9bn Padma Bridge across the Ganges.

The recent protests were the biggest challenge Ms Hasina has faced since taking office, and follows a a highly controversial election when his party was re-elected for a fourth consecutive term in parliament.

Despite the growing announcements of his resignation, he remained defiant. He denounced the protesters as “terrorists” and asked for support “to suppress these terrorists with a firm hand”.

The recent unrest in Dhaka and other places started with the demand to end the job quotas of civil servants but turned into an anti-government movement.

After the pandemic, Bangladesh has been struggling with the rising cost of living. Inflation has skyrocketed, foreign reserves have plummeted, and external debt has doubled since 2016.

Critics have blamed this on the mismanagement of Ms Hasina’s government, and say Bangladesh’s past economic success has only benefited those close to Ms Hasina’s Awami League because of rampant corruption.

They also say that the country’s progress has come from democracy and human rights, and that Mrs. Hasina’s rule has been marked by repressive measures against her political opponents, detractors and the media. The government and Ms. Hasina denied the allegations.

But rights groups have documented hundreds of cases of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings since 2009. Last year Human Rights Watch accused him of “tyrannical repression” of opposition supporters.

In recent months, several senior BNP leaders have been arrested, along with thousands of supporters following anti-government protests – a dramatic turnaround for a leader who once championed multi-party democracy.

Ms. Hasina’s government has completely denied allegations that it is causing torture. but it also severely restricted the visit of foreign journalists wanting to investigate these allegations.