The country faces a rocky road to the election

Thousands of people gathered in Central Dhaka this week, marking the anniversary of the collapse of Prime Minister Sheik Hasina and the promise of a new future for the country.

In a strait of rain, the head of the interim government Mohammed Yunus, leaders of various political parties and activists, stood united until they discovered plans for a “new Bangladesh”.

Throughout the country, people have removed the national flag of concerts, rallies and special prayer sessions, marking what some activists call the “second liberation” of this Muslim majority of 170 million people.

But these cheerful scenes have not told the whole story in the last 12 months.

Rights groups say there have been cases of lynches, mafia violence, revenge, and restoration of religious extremism that threaten to derail the country’s journey to democracy.

Meanwhile, the former premier minister, who was so spectacularly pushed by the clocks of the sidelines of exile in neighboring India, denying his role in the deadly repression and refusing to return to accusations against humanity.

“I think we had a change in the regime, not a revolution. In principle, the misogynia remains intact, the dominance of men remains indisputably,” says Shirine Hyuk, an activist for women’s rights, “BBC tells.

Huq heads the women’s reform of women on women’s issues, one of the bodies created by the Provisional Government to lead to social and political changes, reflecting the goals of the uprising of democracy and pluralism.

In April this year, the 10 -member authority presented its report, calling for gender equality – especially over women’s right to inherit and divorce, called for criminalization of marital rape and protection of the rights of sexual workers who face abuse and harassment by police and others.

Next month, Thousands of Islamist hardliners came out on the street Against the suggested recommendations, saying that they are anti -Islamic and that “men and women can never be equal.”

The protesters – led by Hephazat -is -Islam, who has a representative of the temporary government cabinet of councilors – demanded the dissolution of the Commission for Women, and its members punished for these proposals.

Subsequently, no detailed public debate was held on the proposals of the Commission.

“I was disappointed that the temporary government did not support us enough when we were subjected to a lot of abuses by Hephazat-e-Islam,” says Mrs. Hook.

The Yunus Service did not respond to a request for a comment on the claim.

Activists say the protests were just one example of how hardliners were pushed to fringe during Hasina’s term – have strengthened.

They also have objected to girls playing football matches In some parts of the country, women celebrities participating in commercial promotional events and in some cases have harassed women in public because they were dressed.

But not only women carried the weight. Hardars have also vandalized dozens of minority sanctuaries such as Sufi Muslims in the last year.

But even when people like d -huq look to the future, Banglades is still confronted with his past.

There is a reason for anger against the government led by the Awami League of Hasina, which is accused of illegal murders, necessitating disappearance and brutal suppression of disagreement.

“You have a huge constituency of people in Bangladesh who wanted to see not only accountability but also revenge and retribution,” says David Bergman, a journalist and longtime observer of Bangladesh.

However, he says, “One cannot continue with the injustices that existed during the Awami League period and simply repeat them in the current period.”

But this happens to Hasina’s Awami League claims. It states that hundreds of his supporters have been linked in the last year – accusations that the interim government denies.

Several journalists and supporters of the AWAMI League have been closed for months on murder. Their guarantee applications have been repeatedly rejected by the courts.

Critics say there is no in -depth investigation into these murder allegations and they have been held detention only because of their previous support for the AWAMI League.

“It takes time for stability to return after a great uprising. We are in a transition phase,” admitted Nahid Islam, a student leader who helped to lead the protests and acted as an adviser to the Provisional Government until recently.

Islam is

But there are signs of progress. Many lend an intermediate government to stabilize the country’s economy and, contrary to fears, the banking sector has survived.

Bangladesh fulfilled his loan obligations, maintained food prices to a large extent stable and maintained healthy currency reserves – currently worth $ 30 billion ($ 22 billion) – thanks to money transfers and international loans. Exports are also stable.

Then there are other, less measurable things.

Islam claims that after the fall of Hasina, a democratic environment was created and now anyone can express their views freely. This is something that must be celebrated in a country formed by a history of political turbulence, military coups, murders and bitter rivalries.

But this is questioned by some.

The influence of student leaders on the temporary government has sparked criticism. They received the roles in recognition of their leadership in the unprecedented protests that have taken down Hasina.

Today, two remain in the office, and critics claim that some controversial decisions, such as the temporary ban on the Awami League, have been made under pressure from students.

“The government has sometimes taken into account some of the populist requests, especially students, fearing that more frightening protests may explode otherwise.

Meanwhile, a leader in the Awami League exile claims that the party’s supporters have been muted, not allowed to challenge the next poll – with most of their leaders in exile or in prison.

“The elections will not be inclusive without the participation of the Awami League,” says Mohammed Ali Arafat, a former minister in Hasina’s cabinet, before the BBC.

In his last report, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) said there was an alarming increase in mafia violence While out -of -court murders and death in custody had continued in the last year.

“We have downloaded an authoritarian regime, but if we do not end the authoritarian practices, we cannot really create a new Bangladesh,” said Ifehar Zaman, CEO of TIB, said during the start of the report earlier this week.

As Bangladesh stands at a crossroads, the next six months will be crucial.

Some claim that if there are no meaningful changes in the controlled political system, the victims of the killed in the uprising may be meaningless.