Democracy Succeeds (At Least in Bangladesh)

Student leaders on revolution, elections, and democracy’s revival in Bangladesh.

It is not news that democracy is in trouble almost everywhere. Poll after poll shows that people in most countries—especially in the West and throughout the Americas—are disappointed with democracy as it exists today. This is particularly true among young people, many of whom seem to prefer a strong leader to the apparent impotence of their democratic leaders.

Of course, there are exceptions, and we should celebrate them. Top of that list is Bangladesh, with a history of autocratic leaders, some of whom used elections to hang on to power for years. However, during the summer of 2024, a student-led revolution succeeded in expelling the government of Sheikh Hasina, who had ruled for 15 years.

Fast-forward to February 2026, and Bangladesh has just conducted an election that, by all accounts, was mostly free, fair, and peaceful. The result was that the interim government, led by Nobel Prize-winning Muhammad Yunus, has now been replaced by a democratically elected government. From start to finish, the entire transformation took less than 20 months.

Score one for democracy!

Our guests on New Thinking for a New World were in the front ranks of that revolution. Aysha Siddiqua Tithi and Umama Fatema were both leaders of Students Against Discrimination, the organization that drove the revolution. Listen as they discuss their experiences and hopes for their country's future.    
 

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