Respecting the rights, dignity, and freedom of women, and ensuring full equality for women in health, education, employment, and opportunity must be established as the common ground on which all political actors in Bangladesh agree.
There is no better way for the ruling party to signal that it understands this new reality and that recognizes that it is truly a new day in Bangladesh, and that they too have changed their spots accordingly, than for them to quietly walk back the appointment.
If the BNP's goal had been to signal to the Bangladeshi people that everything their adversaries say about them is true, that nothing has changed from the time they were last in office 20 years ago, that they remain exactly the same party of cronyism, corruption, and contempt for public opinion, they could not have done a better job.
We want to live in a country where the jails are not filled with innocent men and women. This is a basic measure of the probity of any government. This is the rule of law. If there is one thing that the government can deliver for the Bangladeshi people it is this.
Episode 9 of Counterpoint Generations reflects on the immediate post-election landscape, examining voter participation, the formation of the new cabinet, and the institutional challenges facing the incoming government as parliament prepares to begin its term.
The people of Bangladesh do not ask that the government solve all or even any of their problems. They ask only that the government not be the source of their problems and that it simply does its job without favour or fanfare. And above all, they want normalcy, they want civility, they want decency.
What did the February 12 elections mean for the future of Bangladesh?
At the end of the day, the final test of this government is not whether the referendum passes or not, but whether they have been able to hold a credible election and whether the referendum process itself was managed without a hitch.
In Episode 8 of Counterpoint Generations, the discussion explores Bangladesh’s electoral journey from the 1970 election to the present, examining how voting behaviour, political participation, and institutions have evolved over time. The episode also addresses contemporary questions around minority voting patterns, and why opinion polls often fail to predict real outcomes. A reflective conversation on elections, uncertainty, and democratic change.
The time has come for us to once again turn our attention and divert our resources to a truly global world sport: football.
In Episode 7 of Counterpoint Generations, Zafar Sobhan and Professor Rehman Sobhan discuss Manchester United’s recent win, revisit how their shared love for football began, and reflect on the current state of global and Bangladeshi football.
What this latest interview has shown is that even 18 months after the uprising that unseated them from power, the party has not changed one iota. The party remains exactly as it was prior to August 5, 2024, save for the fact that it is no longer in power.
