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Bangladesh Students Want No More Quotas, Plan Countrywide Shutdown

 

Bangladesh Students Want No More Quotas, Plan Countrywide Shutdown

Intro

So, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, some pretty upset students are rallying for a nationwide shutdown because they're fed up with job quotas. This all kicked off after some intense clashes left six people dead and hundreds more hurt. These young folks are super ticked about the job situation because, out of a total population of 170 million, almost 32 million people between 15 and 29 are either jobless or not in school. And what's really getting their goat is that there's this 30% job quota just for the families of freedom fighters, which they think is totally unfair.

Shutdown Time

The guy in charge of the protests, Nahid Islam, basically said, "We're going full-on shutdown mode." They want everything to close down except for hospitals and emergencies. Only ambulances can hit the road, and that's it. But here's the deal, some places in Dhaka were still open, with a few tuk-tuks and bikes around, even though the usual buses were scarcer than hen's teeth.

What's the Government Saying?

The government's like, "Whoa, whoa, whoa," and shut down all the unis in the country. They've got riot cops and some other tough guys at the university campuses to keep things from going crazy. This whole thing is a big deal because it's the first time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's had to deal with something like this since she won another term back in January. The opposition didn't even show up to the election, which is kind of weird.

PM on the Mic

The Prime Minister went on TV and promised that they'd set up a special judge team to look into why the cops had to get so intense and use bullets and tear gas on the protestors. She also said that the big bosses of the court will check out their appeal on August 7 about keeping that 30% job thing for the war heroes' families.

Wrapping Up

Long story short, these protests are about more than just some job spots. They're about how young people in Bangladesh are feeling ignored and like they can't get ahead. What the government does now and how the courts handle this whole mess will totally shape what happens next. It's a pretty serious situation, and everyone's watching to see if the government can find a way to chill everyone out and deal with their complaints.

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