Awami League supremo and three-time Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, 77, today stepped down amid a 45-minute ultimatum from the army and flew out of the violence-hit country to an undisclosed location. This would perhaps be familiar territory for the leader who began her political journey in exile after her father was killed by Bangladesh Army officers.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman – whose statue was desecrated in today’s violence – was the charismatic leader who led East Pakistan to independence and the birth of a new nation.
Sheikh Hasina was just 28 years old when Mujibur Rahman was assassinated and she lived in exile from 1975 to the late 1980s. During exile, she became the head of the party founded by her father and entered politics upon her return.
In 1996, she led the Awami League to victory in the national election and became the first female prime minister of Bangladesh.
The early years of his tenure saw tremendous growth in Bangladesh’s economy and infrastructure, leading to a rapid change in the standard of living in what was once one of the poorest countries in the world.
But his strained relationship with the judiciary and his handling of a series of earlier protests spawned a generation of critics who accused him of authoritarianism and autocracy. His victories in the two subsequent elections were marred by widespread allegations of fraud – adding layers of controversy to what was then one of the country’s most prominent leaders.
Sheikh Hasina’s efforts to bring peace after 25 years of conflict in the Chittagong Hill Tracts were recognised by UNESCO with the Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize in 1998.
The current wave of student protests – which began a few weeks ago over the issue of reservation in government jobs for the families of freedom fighters – has unexpectedly turned into a demand for his resignation.
As violence continued, the army today took action in what some see as the final chapter in the political career of a leader whose life has mirrored the nation’s ups and downs since his birth in 1947.
In her tumultuous career, Sheikh Hasina has faced grenade attacks and assassination attempts. She was placed under house arrest by the army three times, once for opposing a coup and once for opposing the takeover of power by Lt. Gen Hussain Muhammad Ershad. Many believe it is still too early for her to write a political memoir.
