Bangladesh votes on Thursday in the first election since a Gen Z rebellion toppled an ageing autocrat – an uprising tens of millions of young people dreamt could chart a new course for their country.
Images of longtime leader Sheikh Hasina fleeing by helicopter as protesters stormed her residence in the summer of 2024 sent shockwaves around the world, inspiring other youth-led movements against corruption and nepotism that helped topple governments in Nepal and Madagascar.
Many are happy that Hasina’s 15 years of rule – marked by accusations of rigged elections, the loot of state resources and brutal crushing of dissent – have ended.
The “revolution showed the power of what…