Sameera Casmod | sameerac@radioislam.co.za
1 August 2024 | 11:25 a.m. SAST
2-minute read

In Bangladesh, students resumed quota-reform protests after the government ignored demands to release the leaders of Students Against Discrimination, the group that organised the initial protests.

The rallies were caused by civil service job quotas that sparked days of violence, during which 205 people were killed, including several police officers.

“As these protests began and as they intensified, we’ve been hearing about the challenges that has risen between the state authorities and protestors,” Sanusha Naidu, research associate at the Centre for Global Dialogue, said on Radio Islam’s Asia-Pacific Report.

The government’s heavy-handed response to the protests has done nothing to address the quota system and has intensified the conflict.

The demonstration, like the one in Kenya against the tax bill, brings to attention the increasing frequency with which citizens in countries around the world are challenging the political systems in place and demanding more accountability and transparency from their governments.

“What is it that they are coming back to power for? Is it for themselves or is it really about democratic change?” Naidu asked about governing structures that remain in power for long periods.

In another development, a new analysis by Oxfam International highlights the unequal distribution of global wealth and the extreme disparity between the rich and poor. With the US dominating, and China and South Korea the only countries from Asia that feature, the global north dominates the list, further exacerbating the unequal distribution of global power.

The discussion also focused on Asia’s climate change dilemma, which has manifested in the increased frequency of extreme weather patterns such as soaring temperatures in Malaysia, flooding in China, Taiwan and India, and typhoons across other parts of Asia.

Naidu notes the impact of changing weather patterns on economic stability, human security, household income and food sources.

Listen to the Asia-Pacific Report on Sabaahul Muslim with Moulana Sulaimaan Ravat.