Zarif Bin Islam has joined the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) as a Senior Programme Associate.
Zarif began his career at Beximco in 2017. His last appointment was as an Executive at Everest Pharmaceuticals Ltd. He also worked as an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of South Asia.
Zarif completed his MBA in Marketing and Entrepreneurship from BRAC University and B.Sc in Pharmaceutical Sciences from North South University.
The optimism surrounding Bangladesh’s future has grown since the July 2024 Movement, but not equally for everyone. The first round of BIGD’s pulse survey conducted right after the uprising reveals an unsettling trend—while overall optimism has increased, the gender gap has widened. The optimism gap between men and women has grown from three percentage points in 2022 to eight percentage points in 2024, suggesting women are increasingly less hopeful about the future than men.
In the aftermath of the July 2024 Movement, student politics has come under critical scrutiny, fueled by allegations of the Bangladesh Chhatra League’s violent suppression of student-led protests during the movement. Data from the first round of BIGD’s pulse survey, conducted just two weeks after the fall of the Awami-led regime, revealed a striking consensus: 81% of respondents supported banning party-centric student politics on campus, while 84% advocated against party-affiliated teachers’ politics. These numbers show a clear picture of the post-revolution public sentiment.
How did the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League regime evolve into a seemingly invincible, authoritarian government over its 15 and a half years of rule? How has the recent mass uprising, resistance, and revolution led to the fall of the autocratic regime? What could Bangladesh’s democratic future look like in light of the evolving political landscape? In the first episode of Tong Conversations, the speakers discussed, over tea, the future of democracy in a post-revolution Bangladesh.
