Rising from the frontline of protest to the forefront of politics, Nahid Islam is the student activist-turned-politician hoping to steer Bangladesh through the political vacuum left by the fall of its longtime autocratic leader.
A sociology student at the University of Dhaka, Islam co-founded the Students Against Discrimination movement that catalyzed last year's youth revolt. The protests initially focussed on a controversial law that manipulated civil service hirings in favour of government supporters. Quickly, the movement evolved into a mass rejection of the endemic corruption and creeping authoritarianism of the ruling Awami League party that had dominated Bangladeshi politics since the country’s independence struggle in the 1970s. Once led by revered independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the left-leaning League veered towards repression and economic mismanagement under his daughter Sheikh Hasina. By 2024, public anger had reached boiling point – especially among Bangladesh’s youth – forcing Hasina out.
