Bangladesh eases curfew after protests abate, normalcy returning slowly

After days of violent protests over civil service job quotas in Bangladesh, the authorities have eased the curfew rules with garment factories, offices, and banks reopening on July 24.

A relative calm prevailed in the South Asian nation following days of deadly violence with rush-hour traffic returning to the capital Dhaka.

Broadband internet has been restored, but social media remained suspended after student-led protests turned violent last week.

"For now, all social media will remain shut," Zunaid Ahmed Palak, a junior technology minister, told reporters.

As curfew restrictions were removed, the garment and textiles industries, which supply to major Western brands, began reopening factories.

"All our factories are open today. Everything is going smoothly," said S.M. Mannan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

The garment industry in Bangladesh generates $50 billion through annual export revenue. The industry employs millions of young women to sew clothes for H&M, Zara, Gap and other leading international brands.

After two days of being shut, the stock exchange and banks resumed their operations too.

Last week's violence killed almost 150 people, which was one of the worst unrest witnessed during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's tenure.

On July 19, the Sheikh Hasina-led government imposed a nationwide curfew and deployed the Army to control the situation. Police were ordered to "shoot on sight" to quell protests.

The mobile internet networks were also shut down across several parts of the country while schools and universities were closed indefinitely.

The protests began last month in Dhaka and other cities against reservation in public sector jobs, which allocates a significant portion of government jobs to specific groups, including the relatives of war heroes who fought for the country's independence from Pakistan in 1971.

In 2018, the quota system was abolished by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina following mass student protests.

However, in June this year, Bangladesh's High Court reinstated the quotas after relatives of 1971 veterans filed petitions.

The protests turned violent earlier this month after security forces cracked down on gatherings against quotas in government jobs.

The students paused their protests on July 21 after the Supreme Court agreed to scale back the quota system and ruled that 93% of jobs should be merit-based.