Nahid Islam – A 26-year-old Bengali student leader who led protests against Sheikh Hasina

Nahid Islam is a 26-year-old Bengali student who led the protests against the ousted Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, which ended her 15-year reign and forced her to flee to neighboring India.

After “fruitful” discussions with representatives of all major political parties, Bangladesh’s Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman declared on Monday the creation of an interim administration in the wake of Sheikh Hasina’s ousting.

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According to the media reports, the soft-spoken sociology student named Nahid Islam led a student protest against government job quotas that later evolved into an anti-Hasina movement. The student leader gained notoriety last month after being arrested by the police along with several other Dhaka University students while they tried to tighten the noose around the deadly anti-quota protests, which have claimed the lives of about 300 people. She was born in 1998 in Dhaka, the daughter of a teacher.

Islam was scheduled to meet the head of the nation’s army today, along with other student leaders. General Zaman did, however, go on to declare the resignation of the previous prime minister and the establishment of a provisional government for Bangladesh. Regarding the nation’s future, Islam has said that its students would not submit to a government-run or backed by the armed forces, and it has suggested that Muhammad Yunus, the nation’s Nobel winner, be appointed top adviser in the new government structure.

The student leader said in a social media post today (Tuesday, August 6), “Any government other than the one we recommended would not be accepted.”