Why is the government facing public outrage?

Bangladesh is in turmoil.

Street protests are nothing new for the South Asian nation of 170 million people – but the intensity of the demonstrations over the past week has been described as the worst we have seen.

Thousands of university students have been protesting for weeks against the government’s job quota system.

One-third of public sector jobs are reserved for relatives of veterans of the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.

Students argue that the system is discriminatory and requires recruitment based on merit.

What started as peaceful protests at universities have now turned into nationwide unrest.

Protest coordinators said police and the ruling Awami League student wing – also known as the Bangladesh Chhatra League – used brutal force against peaceful protesters, sparking widespread outrage.

The government denies these allegations.

Clashes have been taking place since last Monday. The worst day of violence was Thursday, when at least 25 people were killed, the bloodiest day since the protests began earlier this month.

In total, at least 32 people have died.

The government has imposed unprecedented internet blackouts and restricted phone services.

“No longer students, it seems like people from all walks of life are joining the protest movement,” Dr Samina Luthfa, associate professor of sociology at Dhaka University, told the BBC.

The protests have been going on for a long time. Although Bangladesh is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, experts point out that growth is not translating into jobs for university graduates.

An estimated 18 million young Bangladeshis are looking for work. University graduates face higher unemployment rates than their less educated counterparts.

Bangladesh has become a readymade garment exporting powerhouse. The country exports about $40 billion worth of clothing to the global market.

The industry employs more than four million people, many of them women. But factory jobs are not enough for the ambitious young generation.

Under the 15-year leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh has transformed the country by building new roads, bridges, factories and even a metro line in the capital Dhaka.

Per capita income has tripled over the past decade and the World Bank estimates that more than 25 million people have been lifted out of poverty in the past 20 years.

But many say some of that growth has benefited only those close to Ms Hasina’s Awami League.

“We are seeing too much corruption. Especially among those close to the ruling party. Corruption has been going on for a long time with impunity,” said Dr. Luthfa.

In recent months, social media in Bangladesh has been awash with discussion of corruption allegations against several of Ms Hasina’s former senior officials – including the former army chief, the former police chief, senior tax officials and state recruitment officials.

Last week, Ms Hasina said she was taking action against corruption, saying it was a long-standing problem.

At the same press conference in Dhaka, she said she had taken action against a domestic worker – also known as a domestic worker – after she allegedly amassed $34 million.

“He can’t move without a helicopter. How did he make so much money? I took action as soon as I knew about this,”

She could not identify the person.

Bangladeshi media reaction suggested that such a large sum could only have been accumulated through lobbying for government contracts, corruption or bribery.

Bangladesh’s anti-corruption commission has opened an investigation into former police chief Benazir Ahmed – once seen as a close ally of Ms Hasina – for allegedly amassing millions of dollars through illegal means. He denies the charges.

This news did not escape the attention of the people in the country, who are struggling with the increasing cost of living.

In addition to corruption allegations, many human rights activists point out that the space for democratic activism has narrowed over the past 15 years.

“In three consecutive elections, there has been no credible free and fair voting process,” Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch, told the BBC.

“[Ms Hasina] Ms Ganguly said she “perhaps underestimated the level of discontent among people at being denied the most basic democratic right of choosing their own leaders”.

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) boycotted the 2014 and 2024 elections, saying free and fair elections were not possible under Hasina and they wanted the vote to be held under a neutral caretaker government.

Ms. Hasina has always refused this request.

Human rights groups also say more than 80 people, many of them government critics, have disappeared in the past 15 years and their families have no information about them.

The government has been accused of stifling dissent and the media, amid concerns that Sheikh Hasina has become increasingly authoritarian over the years. But ministers deny the allegations.

“The anger towards the government and the ruling party has been building up for a long time,” said Dr Luthfa.

“People are expressing their anger right now. People will protest if they have no other choice.”

Ms Hasina’s ministers said the government had shown extreme restraint even as they described the protesters’ actions as provocative.

They say the protests were infiltrated by political opposition and Islamist parties, who they blame for instigating the violence.

Law Minister Anisul Huq said the government was ready to discuss the issues.

“The government has approached the student protesters. When there is a reasonable argument, we are ready to listen,” Mr Huq told the BBC earlier this week.

The student protests are perhaps the biggest challenge Ms Hasina has faced since January 2009.

How it resolves will depend on how she handles the unrest and, most importantly, how she addresses growing public anger.