Dhaka Tribune: How was your journey with OSF as the first woman from the Global South?
Open Society Foundations is an organization that is set up to address issues of human rights and dignity and justice. We work all around the world and I started working at Open Society foundation twenty years ago—first as the director of the Africa office and then as the director for Asia. I am now leading this organization. It's been a twenty-year journey, but the work is always interesting. It is also rewarding when you can make a difference—when you can support efforts that actually bring changes. So, for me it's been a very rewarding profession and place of employment. The work that we do is very different with each passing day or year. But fundamentally the values that we seek to see in the world we try and apply them as well. Those are the values of human rights and dignity and justice, and through our work we support and stand with marginal organizations, people speaking out against violations. We also work with governments as well in areas where we find like-minded allies. Therefore, it's an organization that works largely through advocacy.
As the President of Open Society Foundation, can you give us an overview of the work you oversee?
South Asia as a region right now is actually very important in terms of just the number of people on the planet that live in the region. We are seeing changes across the region that are heartening for people who believe in rights, dignity, and justice. The region is also overturning a lot of assumptions that we had about the world today. While there are fears that authoritarianism is on the march in different parts of the world, South Asia demonstrates the opposite.
And in South Asia there are a lot of important and interesting things that are happening. I think Bangladesh is an example of that where after many years there is some real hope that this interim effort and interim government will be able to put Bangladesh on a path to genuine democracy.
Young people are coming out on to the streets, throwing off their fear, and claiming their futures. They are determined to break with a past that was defined by repression, by the centralization of executive power, by the marginalization of communities.
There are opportunities for change that are emerging, represented by powerful people's movements. It happened in Sri Lanka, in 2022, where the momentous events of the Aragalaya saw people for the first time - take to the streets in such large numbers and sweep away a corrupt, inept and repressive government. There is now a new government in place.
And we see that opportunity is emerging for Bangladesh, where the country is in the midst of a transition. If there is a concerted effort to implement crucial reforms, it could see the creation of a more just and fairer society.
What is the agenda of your current visit to Bangladesh and what is the outcome of your meeting with the current administration?
Essentially, we are coming to Bangladesh after fifteen years of a very restrictive rule. Now there's a chance here to support Bangladeshi people in areas that will help them march towards better democracy.
We are here to meet not just the interim government, but also broad sections of civil society - students, journalists, activists, economists, and many others who have such an important role to take the country forward.
Our effort here is to really come and stand as allies with the right-minded voices and see how we can support them.
What would be your priorities for Bangladesh in the days ahead?
This struggle belongs to the people of Bangladesh. We are here to pay our respect to them and to stand with them as allies.
Our approach is to support the efforts at various reforms. We're here to listen, to learn, to work directly with civil society and, where our values align, with the government.
These are early days for the interim government and for us. While we've worked in Bangladesh in the past - supporting education and development, supporting university students, and supporting the response to the COVID-19 pandemic—we are now looking at a very different reality.
We want to see where Open Society can engage constructively.
We are an organization that works around human rights, justice, and equity in different places of the world.
I came first to Bangladesh quite a while back. I went to Cox’s Bazar to the refugee camps just after the Rohingya refugee crisis began. Therefore, I'm not a stranger to Bangladesh but it is a very unique moment in the country right now.
The interim government is carrying out reforms in all major segments and is planning to hold elections by the end of 2025. What challenges and opportunities do you see in this transition?
There are huge opportunities ahead for the people of Bangladesh, but they come with huge challenges.
After 15 years of de facto single party rule, the country's institutions have been weakened and compromised - from the judiciary to the security forces, to parliament, to the electoral body.
There has been an extreme centralization of power, without oversight or accountability. There is deep polarization in society - something that has become even more magnified over recent months.
Reversing these trends and changing courses will not be easy. What we're seeing, however, is that there is tremendous appetite - from the interim government, from political parties, from the students who fined this moment, and from civil society - for deep, meaningful and sustainable reform. There's a resolve that I've seen, right across Bangladeshi society, that the repression of the past, the overconcentration of power in one person, or family, or party's hands should never happen again.
How to ensure that is a complicated question. This is a process that needs to be led and owned by the people of Bangladesh, with buy-in for it transcending political and social divides.
There are many encouraging reform commissions that have emerged, advancing thoughtful and realistic proposals. What will make them viable is if there's support for them from across Bangladeshi society - the political parties, civil society, the students, the private sector, and other key constituencies.
You don't want a situation where the reform process is excellent, but it doesn't go anywhere because there isn't that buy-in.The most pressing reform coming is in elections. There hasn't been a credible, competitive election in Bangladesh for a very long time.
And there needs to be a credible, competitive process where the next government can be smoothly, transparently, and peacefully voted in by the people of Bangladesh. There is an expectation that the interim government will play a firmly neutral role.
The success of the transition may hinge on the success of the electoral reforms.
The youth-led protests in July-August were a powerful response to a system that had long suppressed their potential. How do you see the young people becoming part of this democratic process in Bangladesh?
The young generation of Bangladesh is an inspiration. What began as a protest against a corrupt system of job quotas mushroomed into a historic movement of change. At the time, there were widespread fears that the protests would be crushed by force, but the courage and the determination of these protestors is something that people watched with awe around the world.
In different parts of Africa and Asia, we've seen young people display fearlessness on the streets to challenge injustice, sweep away old repressive orders, and reimagine the economic and political systems that have created the unfair worlds they will inherit
We saw it last year in Senegal, where young people led an electoral movement. We saw it in Kenya, where young people took to the streets in defiance of lethal force. In Bangladesh, we're seeing young people take a further step, with the students talking about establishing a new political party. This would be momentous. There is a demand, from young people around the world, for new political parties.
A new political party led by students could make the elections even more competitive. It could produce new young leaders, especially women. It would give young people a direct voice in how they are governed. It could channel the energy that we saw last year into governance - where it's needed.
What suggestions would you give to the Bangladesh administration to ensure accountability for violations of human rights and for ensuring justice for the victims?
There need to be independent and impartial investigations into last year's killings and all the ones that have taken place since. We're seeing some encouraging steps in this direction, through some of the proposed reforms and through engagement with international actors like the United Nations Human Rights Office.
The wheels of justice will turn slowly, perhaps too slowly for many people. It won't be easy for the judiciary to be transformed from an instrument of power under previous governments into a guarantor of justice. But without due process, without a fair system that promotes accountability and not vengeance, it won't be justice at all. A process that merely turns the tables risks repeating the mistakes of the past.
In these situations, we have examples from across the world, especially from Latin America, where transitional justice processes have been introduced to pursue the truth, to implement justice, to make reparations and to guarantee the non-recurrence of past crimes. It won't be a quick process, but it could be one with lasting results.
Bangladesh is witnessing a spike in political and religious disinformation since the students’ movement in July. Will OSF be interested in joining hands with Bangladesh on the issue?
The spread of misinformation and disinformation is a very serious threat to the current transition. It threatens to inflame divisions and rouse violence between political groups and communities. There is a need for new, credible flows of information to reach people. It's a challenge not just in Bangladesh, but around the world.
Therefore, misinformation and disinformation are not a new thing, but I think technology has deepened and worsened it not just in Bangladesh but around the world. And we see the power of technology when it is misused to be quite damaging. And Open Society is concerned about this issue not just in Bangladesh but globally.
Binaifer Nowrojee is the president of the Open Society Foundations, the world’s largest private funder of independent groups working for justice, democratic governance and human rights.
With over three decades of experience, Nowrojee navigates politically sensitive operating environments to create significant impact. Nowrojee brings deep expertise in Africa and Asia, where she has spearheaded advocacy initiatives to promote social justice and equality.