Bangladesh is set to welcome a new museum at the official residence of former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Ganabhaban palace. A year ago in July 2024, Sheikh Hasina was ousted from power after a student-led revolt.
Muhammad Yunus, the 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner and head of the current caretaker government, said the museum would help people remember “her misrule and the anger that led to her fall.” The statement was reported by the AFP news agency.
Bangladeshi Activists Say Museum Will Remind of Sheikh Hasina’s Fascism
Rights activist and documentary photographer Mosfiqur Rahman Johan, 27, said the museum would help people remember both the suffering and the resistance of the past. “Ganabhaban is a symbol of fascism, the symbol of an autocratic regime,” he told AFP.
The museum will also focus on the protestors who lost their lives during the 2024 movement. According to the United Nations, around 1,400 people were killed between July and August 2024 during the protests.
Ganabhaban was once a heavily guarded palace and the heart of Hasina’s rule. It became a powerful symbol of the uprising when students and protestors stormed the building. Images of flag-carrying crowds climbing onto the roof of the palace as Hasina fled the country went viral. These images became a key part of the uprising’s legacy.
The Student-Led Uprising in Bangladesh Occurred in July 2024
Videos also spread widely on social media, showing protestors inside the palace enjoying the luxury once reserved for Hasina. Just minutes after she fled Dhaka, mobs entered the palace and looted it. Everything from sarees, handbags, decorative items, and clocks to TVs, sofas, and even fish from the kitchen was taken.
As Bangladesh marks the one-year anniversary of the protests, Sheikh Hasina remains in the global spotlight. She has been widely criticised for her role in human rights abuses, mass arrests, and killings of political opponents during her 15 years in power.
The 77-year-old former prime minister has been accused of crimes against humanity but continues to deny all charges and refuses to follow court orders. The UN has also supported the allegations against her.
