Two years after the July 2024 uprising reshaped Bangladesh’s political landscape, many of the students who helped lead the movement say the country has yet to deliver the deep institutional reforms they believed they were fighting for.
While many credit the uprising with ending an era of authoritarian politics and awakening a new generation politically, students who took part in the movement say the structural reforms they fought for have yet to materialize, with corruption, insecurity, intolerance and weak governance continuing to shape public life.
Their reflections also find support in recent data.
Transparency International Bangladesh’s latest National Household Survey reported that citizens’ experiences of corruption while accessing public services have increased since the political transition, raising fresh questions about whether changes in government have translated into meaningful reforms within state institutions.
For many students, the movement was never solely about removing a government.
They say it represented a demand for a more accountable state, independent institutions, equal opportunities, democratic freedoms and an end to discrimination.
Two years later, many believe those ambitions remain only partially fulfilled.
“There has been no meaningful transformation in the economy, education, society or culture,” said Sajib Ahmed Zenich, a student at Jahangirnagar University.
“The expectations that brought students onto the streets have largely remained unmet. Economic hardship has deepened, unemployment remains a major concern and many of the structural reforms we hoped for have yet to materialise.”
Even so, he does not regard the uprising as a failure.
“The July uprising is not the final chapter. It will continue to inspire future struggles against inequality.”
Other students argue that although people today enjoy greater freedom to express opinions than before, institutional reform has lagged behind political change.
Wali Al Masud, another Jahangirnagar University student, said corruption, religious intolerance and violence continue to cast doubt on whether the political transition has fundamentally altered governance.
“People may speak more freely than before, but many still face intimidation for expressing different opinions,” he said.
For Dhaka University student Tamzid Haider, the July uprising represented the culmination of nearly two decades of accumulated public frustration over the erosion of democratic rights.
He believes many of the grievances that fuelled the protests, including demands for accountability and justice, remain unresolved.
“The trials over the July killings have not progressed as people expected,” he said.
“There has also been an increase in mob violence and attacks on minorities and people holding different opinions. These developments raise difficult questions about how much has truly changed.”
Several female students said one of the most disappointing developments has been the rise in online harassment and intimidation targeting women.
Shabnam Akter said many women who actively participated in the uprising have since withdrawn from public engagement because of cyberbullying and organised online attacks.
Dhaka University student Sheikh Tasnim Afroze Emi echoed those concerns, saying the increase in online abuse and mob behaviour has created fresh insecurity for women despite their prominent role during the movement.
Others expressed disappointment that some student leaders who inspired the protests have become increasingly distant from ordinary people’s concerns after the political transition.
Yet despite widespread frustration, almost none of those interviewed questioned the historical significance of the uprising itself.
Instead, they described it as the beginning of a much longer struggle.
Many believe its greatest achievement was not the transfer of political power but the emergence of a generation more willing to question authority, demand accountability and participate in public affairs.
For them, the real test of July will not be whether it changed a government in 2024, but whether it ultimately succeeds in transforming the institutions and political culture that inspired thousands of young people to take to the streets in the first place.