Bangladesh minority rights group accuses interim government of failing to protect minorities
DHAKA, Bangladesh — Bangladesh's largest minority rights group accused the country's interim government on Thursday of failing to protect religious and ethnic minorities from attacks and harassment , a claim the government has denied.
The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council said the government headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus is also using state institutions to suppress minority groups. Yunus took over after a student-led uprising last year in which hundreds of people died forced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to flee to India on Aug. 5, ending her 15-year rule.
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Special report: Finding entrepreneurs among the very poor
Editor's note: This is the third in a five-part series on the price of freedom, by exploring the work and experience of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus in Bangladesh. Deseret News Opinion Editor Jay Evensen has known Yunus since 1997, when the world leader first visited Utah. Evensen traveled to Dhaka to speak again with Yunus, entrepreneurs, politicians in the country, and even revolutionaries seeking change, to understand the risks Yunus is enduring and why peace and opportunity in Bangladesh are so important to the United States. GOPALDI, BANGLADESH — To outward appearances, Tulsi Podder is typical of the women I met in the backyard of a home in this rural 'village' of almost 50,000 people about an hour's drive outside of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. But, in many other ways, she is far different from what you might have encountered here a few decades ago. She is wrapped in a traditional vivid blue sari. Like the other women at this gathering, her forehead is adorned with a red dot or bindi, paint traditional to Hinduism and other religions. The part of her hair is lined with red sindoor powder, which indicates she is married. She and many other women have come to make installments on loans through the Grameen Bank, established by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to help the poor become entrepreneurs. Her payment is a 13,000 taka weekly installment on a 500,000 taka loan, the equivalent of $4,100. I wouldn't have seen anything close to this a generation or two ago, according to K.M. Tipu Sultan, the Grameen Bank senior principal officer who has accompanied me to this gathering. Many of the 75 borrowers in this center — one of 75 centers in this branch — are quietly seated on the ground in front of a table that contains books for recordkeeping. Each one has a story to tell about the steady accumulation of wealth, with many eager to talk about children in higher education. They gather here once a week, either to make installments on any of a variety of collateral-free loans available to them, or to make deposits into savings accounts. All are women. Bank officials say women have proven to be far more responsible with funds than their husbands. However, nearly all the women I speak with let their husbands run the day-to-day affairs of the family businesses. Years ago, no traditional bank would have bothered with these people, especially not with collateral-free loans. Before beginning, Sultan asks for a show of hands. How many have children who are going to school? How many have used sanitary latrines in the past week? The hands shoot up. How many have children in college? Many hands go up. Smiles abound. 'This is a transformation,' Sultan tells me. If the aim is to get people out of poverty, this transformative process involves health and personal hygiene as much as the ability to earn money. Podder uses the money she has borrowed to expand her business of selling fabrics and clothes she has made. Her first loan, 21 years ago, was for only 5,000 taka, or a mere $41. It has grown steadily since then. The Grameen Bank is the outgrowth of Yunus' discovery, a half-century ago, that he could improve the lives of the poorest people in his nation by loaning them small amounts of money and placing them in small support groups where they learn the art of entrepreneurship. Yunus, now known as the 'banker to the poor,' knew no bank would trust its money to such a person, with no credit history and no security. But he saw that ordinary poor people, given the chance, could break free from employers who gave them subsistence wages at the end of a hard day, and be able to work for themselves. In an interview in the guest house of the compound where he now lives as temporary head of state in Bangladesh, Yunus explains it to me in stark language. The idea of getting a job stems from slavery, he said. It's the idea that you have to work for somebody. Oh yes, we've polished it up a bit, he said. 'But it's still slavery. You take orders from somebody.' This, he said, is wrong. 'Human beings are free persons.' But unless people are given economic freedom, no one really knows who they are. 'That is denied in a job-oriented society. You're an unknown person not only to the world, you're an unknown person to yourself,' he said. As a result, most people go through life never understanding their potential. 'You never got a chance to find out who you are; how much you could have contributed. 'You could have changed the whole world. You're one person who could change the whole world, but you didn't know that.' He's just as relentlessly critical of the soft bigotry of Western socialism as he is of capitalism's excesses. Rich countries have welfare programs that give people subsistence without letting them grow, he said. 'So, you're hiding poverty.' People, he believes, should at least have the choice whether to provide for themselves or work for others. I have watched Yunus explain this to audiences in Utah through the years, including one memorable speech at Salt Lake City's Alta Club. He gets an enthusiastic response to the notion of using capitalist principles to solve societal ills. But his encouragement to focus on people over profits has struggled to gain a foothold. 'Ask yourself, why do people climb Mount Everest?' he asked in that speech. 'Many people do this, even some who are blind or crippled. They risk their lives to do it. Are there stacks of money up there they need to go and get?' People, he said, can be motivated also by the rewards of helping other people. 'If I make money for myself, I am happy. If I make other people happy, I am super happy,' he said. 'You can do both.' Now, as head of state, he tells me he wants the world to design a system that allows everyone to stand on their own feet naturally. 'Not only to take care of yourself, but to contribute.' Grameen — 'rural' or 'village' in Bangla — is the version he designed. Yunus and his Grameen Bank jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 because of this philosophy, and because people such as the women in Gopaldi have shown it can work. He also received the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2010. For more than a half century, microfinance has been copied in many countries. Some reports associate it with an increase in debt and misery, sometimes leading to suicide and other social costs. Yunus is quick to note that these programs do not follow his pattern and often rely on traditional banking techniques and aggressive debt collection. Grameen is all about collaboration, group support and encouragement. The manager of the Gopaldi branch, Shahid Islam Khan, shows me that this center has a 2% delinquency rate, which is written off. Bank figures show $14.9 million in loans nationwide that are delinquent by between five and nine installments. But the Gopaldi branch alone also has 107 million taka in outstanding loans that are current, or about $877,000, and more than that — 158 million taka ($1.3 million) — in deposits. Significantly, the bank offers a variety of products including, on the extreme end, zero-interest loans to beggars — people who, sometimes following generations of family members before them, have subsisted by asking others for money. I encounter several of these who walk up to cars in traffic jams around Dhaka, their hands extended toward car windows. Sultan said 68% of Grameen borrowers find their way out of poverty, as measured by 10 indicators the bank has established. For beggars, however, only 54% on average graduate from entry-level beggar loans to regular basic loans, and that process can take five or six years. It is, he said, because of the fierce cultural and familial dynamics that must be overcome. Still, the bank's willingness to help them struggle their way toward entrepreneurship is remarkable. The bank says it has 89,070 members in Bangladesh who qualify as beggars. Since the inception of the Grameen Bank, $38.7 billion has been disbursed, with $36.4 billion repaid. The women at this Thursday morning meeting are clearly anxious to impress their American visitors. I am joined by Deseret News photographer Scott Winterton and Salt Lake general surgeon Scott Leckman. We are encouraged to ask questions as the women come to the table to transact their business. Loxmia Rani Saha, dressed in a bright red sari, smiles as she talks about her children. It is her back yard in which we meet. One of her three children has completed the 12th grade and is now working on a bachelor's degree, she said. She and her husband run an electronics shop in the town square. When I ask what is her hope for life, Sultan interprets. 'Her children's education will improve their lives,' he said. 'She wishes her children would be educated and will do their own business.' Pinky Boni is a beautician who smiles like a model as I train my camera on the group. Her hair is neatly parted and styled, and her smartly groomed 12-year-old daughter, Ronopa Bonik, is at her side. Boni runs her business out of her home, but her plan is to get a shop in the city. Purnima Sarkar is a goldsmith, and she shows it by the many rings, bracelets and necklaces she wears. She proudly tells me about her son, who is a cricketer and an honor student. At Grameen headquarters in Dhaka, Grameen Group Chairman Ashraful Hassan discusses what the last 15 years have been like in Bangladesh. Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, deposed last summer in a student-led revolution, was hostile toward the bank and the idea of microcredit and the numerous 'social businesses' Yunus had started in order to improve living conditions. In 2012, the government forced Yunus off the board of directors under the pretense that he was too old, even though the minister who ousted him was even older. He was forced to exit the Grameen Bank campus entirely in 2020. The lesson was that, when you live in a country dominated by corruption and poverty, it isn't advisable to try to find a cure for both. Hassan acknowledges that the Grameen vision was interrupted during those years. Attempts were made to send people to foreign countries to operate remotely, but the government wouldn't permit it. Somehow, the borrowing and saving continued in places such as Gopaldi. Today, the bank reports 10.6 million members in Bangladesh, with 134,884 centers such as the one we visited. But there is work to be done to make up for lost time. As we leave the rural area of Gopaldi, Podder is anxious for us to visit her house, a stately yellow structure with its own temple in the backyard, and to meet her daughter-in-law. She shows us the clothes she is preparing to sell. She beams as we compliment what she is wearing. 'It was difficult for her,' Sultan interprets as I ask what life was like before Grameen. 'As she got loans, it became very good for her to manage the family; to handle the business.' Today, she puts at least 4,000 taka per month into a savings account. She invests in a family welfare account. Her deposits in one month are almost as much as what she borrowed her entire first year. 'She's happy. You can tell,' Sultan said. I didn't need an interpreter to tell me that.
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2 days ago
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She was tortured, yet she still fights for freedom
Editor's note: This is the second in a five-part series on the price of freedom, by exploring the work and experience of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus in Bangladesh. Deseret News Opinion Editor Jay Evensen has known Yunus since 1997, when the world leader first visited Utah. Evensen traveled to Dhaka to speak again with Yunus, entrepreneurs, politicians in the country, and even revolutionaries seeking change, to understand the risks Yunus is enduring and why peace and opportunity in Bangladesh are so important to the United States. DHAKA, BANGLADESH — As I sit across the desk from Aparna Roy Das, the 49-year-old whose political career, like that of her father, has been marred by broken bones, torture and harassment, the question seems so obvious it practically leaps from the walls. Why do you choose to be a politician when there are such dangers? Just a few minutes later, as we discuss whether rival parties and factions might disrupt upcoming elections with more violence, the chants of protesters begin to grow outside the window behind where Das sits at her desk, a window covered in blinds, here in the capital city of Bangladesh. These chants quickly become loud enough to interrupt our discussion. I feel compelled to ask my interpreter, Tathira Baatul, a young research assistant and aspiring journalist, 'Is that a good protest?' 'I'm not sure,' she answers. Such is the rough-and-tumble world of politics in Bangladesh. At the time of this interview, the party to which Das belongs, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, or BNP, was supportive of interim leader Muhammad Yunus' efforts to reform the nation before holding elections. Today, the BNP is restless, urging Yunus to hold elections quickly, ostensibly because it is expected to win popular support. But as the chants rise during our interview in February, Das has just described for us how, for 15 years, she could not use this office because police, presumably operating under Hasina's orders, had destroyed its contents. She also had been tortured. 'Both of my knees were broken by the police during the first strike in 2010,' she said, according to a transcript of our interview, translated and provided to me by Baatul after the meeting. 'And since then, I have been tortured multiple times in police custody and in court. They tortured me from my legs to my head. 'Even now, because of that torture, I am physically unwell, though in terms of mental strength, I remain resilient. I was never able to go abroad for treatment.' She wasn't the first in her family to endure such punishment for political activism. Her mother died last Dec. 29, she tells me, 'because of 17 years of oppression.' 'She spent those years alone, visiting prisons, as someone from our family was always behind bars. She fought against the administration by herself, and after enduring so much, she suffered a stroke.' On the many times her father was arrested, she used to pray he was in jail, because if not, it might mean he had been made to disappear, as too many were during those years. 'He is a freedom fighter, but the kind of brutality he faced was unimaginable,' she said. 'He had even said, holding his chest like Abu Sayed, 'If they are to kill my people, kill me first.'' Sayed was a well-known student activist who was among the first to die during the uprising last summer that resulted in a full-scale revolution in Bangladesh. That resulted in Hasina fleeing to India, after which the students convinced Yunus, Nobel laureate and 'banker to the poor,' to head an interim government. He leads it to this day, despite mounting pressures from political parties and the military. And Das now serves as assistant secretary for marginal manpower development affairs within the BNP. But the question remains. After watching both parents suffer physically and mentally for so many years; after seeing former prime minister and Bangladesh's 'Mother of Democracy,' Begum Khaleda Zia, endure torture; and after having her own bones broken by the blows of state police, is it worth it to continue? Why not pick a safer profession? First, she was born into a political family, Das said. Her father, Gayeshwar Chandra Ray, is a standing committee member of the BNP. 'I have witnessed these things from a young age, as I have seen my parents engaged in politics. Therefore, it was never a question of whether I would join or not,' she said. Later, she grows a bit more thoughtful. 'There is democracy and the right to speak, but this was not the case in our country,' Das said. 'My father endured so much torture, and after he was injured, we didn't know where the police had kept him. It was an extremely frightening day for me because three members of my family were in the hospital, and I couldn't find my father. 'Many people told me not to look for him, because they would arrest me too and torture me, but I wasn't afraid. I was always in the streets. Now, even if I see any injustice in the country, especially from those who want to take everything from Bangladesh, I will protest against them in any way, shape or form that I can. 'If the torture had not happened to my father, but to someone else, I would have done the same thing.' Pericles is quoted as saying, 'Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you.' That is especially true for many in Bangladesh, a nation of 171.5 million people that fills a geographical area about the size of Iowa. Since it won independence from Pakistan in 1971, it has struggled to establish democratic traditions, suffering assassinations, coups and despotism. To much of the world, it seems remote and inconsequential. Yet hope flickers strong in politicians such as Das and others who seem strengthened through trials. It is a hope from which the world could learn. It is a hope reflected in the easy smiles I encountered in villages outside Dhaka. It is a hope bolstered by belief, and it is one that has me reflecting on the fragility of freedom. The Bangladeshi economy has grown, despite hardships. The World Bank said Bangladesh had reached 'lower-middle income status' by 2015. GDP grew by 6.4% between 2010 and 2023, and the poverty rate fell from 11.8% to 5% during roughly the same period. Still, that's an international poverty level based on only $2.15 per day. The moderate poverty rate, measured at $3.65 per day in 2017 dollars, is at 30%. Even with rising prosperity, hunger and low wages can bring politics close to everyone. When elections come again, the nation will learn much about itself and how far it has come. It will learn whether the Awami League, the political party allied with now-deposed former prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, intends to be disruptive, or even violent. The party has been outlawed while investigations proceed into violence committed during student protests last summer. Das, who believes interim government leader Yunus has done much to reinstate basic freedoms, answers easily as I ask her what she hopes Bangladesh will be like in 10 or 20 years. 'I want Bangladesh to be a place where everyone can eat, vote and sleep peacefully,' she says. 'I want our daughters to be able to go outside without fear. I dream of a beautiful, just Bangladesh, one where we don't have to live at the cost of others' blood. 'This Bangladesh, which we gained through the sacrifices of millions, must rise again. I want justice for the massacre that occurred at the border between India and Bangladesh. My neighbor should be my friend, but our neighbor harms us. We seek freedom from that harm. 'Above all conspiracies, I want a beautiful Bangladesh.' This is the real answer to the question. This is why she serves. And if that day comes, no one could say people like Das haven't paid the price for it. It takes only minutes for Das and her colleagues in the room to determine that the protests we hear on the street outside are from her supporters. We are in no danger. And yet, I am left pondering how I felt for the brief moment when I didn't know. How would it feel to know they were, indeed, hostile, as Das has had to face so often in her life?
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2 days ago
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Bangladesh Sets April 2026 Election Date, Prompting Mixed Reactions
Interim Bangladesh leader Muhammad Yunus made the long-anticipated announcement late Friday that general elections will be held in the first half of April 2026. The declaration has sparked a wave of reactions and fresh deliberations across the country. Political parties had hoped—and many had negotiated—for elections to be held within the current year. The extended timeline has caused concern among several factions, given that it has already been 10 months since the political upheaval that led to the unexpected ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina following student-led protests in August. More from Sourcing Journal A Sea Change in Bangladesh as New Leadership Takes Over BGMEA How Should Brands Think About Cross-Border E-Commerce Amidst Uncertainty? Upstream Focus: Do-Gree Fashions Ltd.'s Matthew Tock on Tariffs, Taking Risks and Transparency While numerous political parties continue to demand elections before the end of 2025, business leaders are increasingly voicing apprehensions about how the delay could affect their operations and strategic planning. This is particularly true in the apparel sector, which accounts for approximately 80 percent of the country's total exports. International buyers are seeking reassurances about policy continuity and clarity on issues such as tax volatility, geopolitical shifts, and rising gas and electricity prices. In his address to the nation, Yunus stated: 'After reviewing the ongoing reform activities, I am announcing to the people today that the next national election will be held on any day in the first half of April 2026.' He added that a detailed 'roadmap for the voting' would be shared 'at an appropriate time.' Manufacturers have been urging the government to hold elections sooner to ensure stability and continuity in policymaking. With critical developments underway—including U.S. trade deadlines, the initiation of free trade agreement talks with Washington, ongoing financing from the International Monetary Fund, and rapid global geopolitical changes—industry leaders argue that firm and credible political leadership is essential. Yunus's announcement follows a major political crisis triggered by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's ouster. Since August, the country has operated under an interim government tasked with implementing reforms and preparing for elections. The Awami League, led by Hasina, remains banned from contesting future polls. Meanwhile, the opposition BNP—which boycotted the January 2024 election—is now widely expected to return to power. Its leader, Khaleda Zia, recently acquitted in a long-standing corruption case, appears poised for a political comeback. Some manufacturers told Sourcing Journal that the delayed election timeline could create a prolonged period of uncertainty. Investors and buyers are increasingly concerned about the risk of sudden policy reversals, they noted. They also pointed to the steep 37-percent tariff recently imposed on Bangladeshi exports by U.S. President Donald Trump in April—a rate second only to one other South Asian nation and the 15th highest globally—as a worrying sign. In comparison, India faces a 26 percent tariff, and Pakistan, 29 percent. Industry leaders stressed that Bangladesh needs a strong, stable political mandate to manage such external pressures. They also emphasized that recent tensions with India could be viewed as more 'personal' than 'political,' and an elected government could help reset relations with a broader geopolitical vision. Still, many manufacturers expressed cautious optimism following the recent conclusion of elections at the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), the powerful industry body that represents and negotiates on behalf of the country's key export sector. The new leadership, set to assume office on June 16, will be led by president-elect Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu. Speaking to Sourcing Journal after his victory, Babu said his team would act swiftly to address what he called the 'long-standing challenges faced by the industry.''Among the main proposals are the formation of a dedicated ministry for the garment sector, ensuring fair pricing from international buyers, and establishing specialized cells to explore new markets and manage regional crises,' he said. These objectives were central to his Forum Panel's election manifesto. Other industry leaders noted that, despite the political uncertainty, Bangladesh's apparel sector has continued to grow. According to data released last week by the Export Promotion Bureau, apparel exports in May 2025 totaled $3.91 billion—up 11.85 percent from $3.50 billion in May 2024—out of a total of $4.25 billion in exports for the month. Vidiya Khan, deputy managing director of Desh Garments Ltd. and one of the recently elected BGMEA board members, described the BGMEA election as a positive signal: 'This was perhaps the most free and fair election seen by BGMEA in recent times. It gives us confidence that the national elections will also follow in a similar spirit.' She acknowledged that the political upheaval of last year had initially left a vacuum—resulting in factory closures and buyer confusion—but praised the industry's resilience. 'Our turnaround time in the face of tragedy or political upheaval has been very short. This has been a transitional period for the country. Even without an elected government, the industry is showing growth,' she said.'We need more diversification, but for now, apparel exports are our biggest industry. The entire forward and backward linkage ecosystem depends on this—it brings in over 80 percent of our foreign exchange. So, regardless of who is in government, this sector must be prioritized and protected.' 'We have our own set of challenges, but at the end of the day, we have a large, flexible workforce that must be sustained,' she added. 'Things do need to be cleaned up—but they could have been a lot worse during this transition.' 'It's an opportunity to hit the reset button.' However, even amid hopes for renewal, the industry was struck by tragedy this week. On Monday, manufacturers in Dhaka were reeling from the unexpected death of Abdullah Hil Rakib, managing director of Teams Group and former senior vice president of BGMEA, who died in a boating accident in Canada. Speaking to Sourcing Journal just days earlier, Rakib had stressed the urgency of resolving the political situation.'A quicker resolution would help settle important issues for the industry,' he said, noting the need to maintain trust with international partners—particularly the U.S. and global buyers.'The domestic tariff and procurement policies must be considered as we negotiate a bilateral agreement,' he added, referring to the early stages of free trade agreement discussions between Bangladesh and the United States.
