POSTPONED: Panel Discussion on "Witnessing Revolution: The 2024 Student Uprisings in Bangladesh"

Monday, August 26, 2024

10:00 am – 11:00 am EDT/GMT-4 

Online Event

8 PM Dhaka l 10 AM New York l 4 PM Vienna

BRAC University, Bard College, the Review of Democracy at Central European University's Democracy Institute, and OSUN are presenting a special panel discussion on Bangladesh's "July Revolution," which was launched by a series of youth and student-led, anti-government protests criticizing the government's unfair public service hiring quotas.

Anchored in universities, the student protests soon turned into a national mobilization against the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s authoritarian attitude towards the student leaders, leading to her resignation and fleeing the country. This panel will bring together some of the frontline voices from the movement as well as provide perspective on what comes next for Bangladesh. 

As BRAC's Dean for General Education Samia Huq reflected in a recent article, "How will the country recoup, regroup and rebuild?"

"Witnessing Revolution: The 2024 Student Uprisings in Bangladesh"

Moderator: Samia Huq, Dean of General Education at BRAC University, Professor of Anthropology
Organizer: Anubha Anushree, Editor, The Review of Democracy, Central European University

Faculty Panelists:  
Shafiul Aziz, Lecturer, School of General Education, BRAC University
Nirnoy H. Islam, Lecturer, School of General Education, BRAC University
Mir Rifat us Saleheen, Lecturer, School of General Education, BRAC University

Student Panelists:
Sabah Anjim Farabi
Antara Farnaz Khan
Sadman Sakib


Samia Huq is Dean of the School of General Education and Professor of Anthropology at Brac University, Bangladesh. She obtained her PhD from Brandeis University, USA, studying women’s religious discussion groups in urban Bangladesh. As Dean of the core curriculum, her task in to build and consolidate the liberal arts and sciences in general education and interdepartmental offerings through the creation and curation of courses, embedding a liberal arts teaching and learning and building co-curricular pathways for civic engagement and leadership as essential ingredients of the Brac U student experience. Dr. Huq is also Research Fellow at the Center for Peace and Justice (CPJ) at Brac University where she runs the project on Faith and Development in collaboration with the World Faiths Development Dialogue at Georgetown University. As part of the project, Dr Huq is exploring the intersection of faith and development around questions of education, gender equality and aspirations of youth, facilitating dialogues between faith inspired and secular development actors on these issues.  Dr. Huq has been involved in research on the impact of secondary secular and madrasa education on gendered norms and practices, as part of the Initiative on Education, Gender and Growth in Asia. Dr. Huq is the Chief Academic Officer (CAO) representing Brac University at the Open Society University Network (OSUN)  Dr. Huq also sits on the board of several national NGOs and think tanks. She is author of several peer reviewed journal articles, book chapters and currently working on her monograph on women, Islam and modernity in Bangladesh.

Shafiul Aziz is a lecturer at the School of General Education, Brac University, where he has been teaching since 2022. He holds a BSS in Anthropology with a minor in Sociology from Brac University and an Interdisciplinary MA from the Centre for Modern Indian Studies at the University of Goettingen, Germany. His academic focus is on the colonial and post-colonial Indian subcontinent, with research interests including Bengali muslim identity, Dalit politics, history of liberalism, and intellectual history. 

Nirnoy H. Islam is a multidisciplinary scholar interested in coalition building and learning across theory and practice.  He is currently teaching the Ethics and Culture course in the School of General Education. Until recently he was teaching Cultural Studies in the Media Studies Journalism Department of University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh. Before that he was working as a Research Fellow for Center for Bangladesh studies, a people’s think tank. In 2017 he received an MA in South Asian Studies from SOAS, University of London with a major in Contemporary Politics of South Asia. In 2015 he completed a BA with a double major in Philosophy and Physics from Colby College, USA. He has been involved in participatory research around gender justice and social issues both in the US and in Bangladesh from 2013. His current research interests include themes of: social movements, gender and sexuality in the Global South, feminist ethics, surveillance and social media.  

Sabah Anjim Farabi is an undergraduate student of Brac university majoring in CSE. He is currently in his 7th semester. He strives to build a world where justice prevails and everybody gets their due. He wishes for a society without discrimination.

Mir Rifat us Saleheen is a Lecturer in the School of General Education at BRAC University, Dhaka. His research focuses on the role of radical media, political mobilization, and transnational solidarity movements. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Media Studies and Journalism from the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh and a Master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies (specializing in political history) from the University of British Columbia, Canada. He is working with UCLA’s Endangered Archive Project to preserve and digitalize rare archives in Bangladesh. He is also interested in visual media and documentary filmmaking.

Antara Farnaz Khan is a student of Anthropology and Economics at Brac University and has been working in a feminist organization in Bangladesh for a few years. She's interested in social movements, structural reform, and political anthropology. 

Sadman Sakib is a passionate Computer Science student at BRAC University. He has demonstrated exceptional leadership as the founder and president of his high school’s Science and Debate Clubs, revitalizing student engagement and promoting critical thinking. Sadman now contributes to the Bangladesh Mathematical Olympiad academic team. He is also dedicated to educational outreach, empowering marginalized students.

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