Introduction
In the modern age, there are significant changes in communicating, connecting, and mobilizing for social causes. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is such a powerful and surprising invention that is playing a role in the rise of human rights movements like social media, online news portals, and YouTube.The concept of resource mobilization emphasizes the relevance of resources as the basis for the formation and success of social movements. Knowledge, money, media, labor, solidarity, legitimacy, and the internal and external support of powerful elites are all resources in this situation. However, this theory explains how social movements arise when people with grievances can gather enough support to take action. And the age of digital media, or information and communication technology, has contributed to the growth and success of human rights movements. Human Rights Movements are gaining traction in Bangladesh, and it is critical to explore how they are using digital technologies to accomplish success. Bangladesh continues to face an incredible number of human rights violations, most of which are labor rights, gender discrimination, religious discrimination, and political repression, and the increased use of information and communication technologies has led to increased forms of protest and rallying support for social movements. Some of the movements that are worth noting are such as, "No VAT on Education",
No VAT on Education (2015)
Social media is becoming more useful for tracking emerging human rights situations as well as for exposing false information. The tag #novatoneducation has brought a wave of movement across the country through social media. The month of September has special significance in the history of student movements for educational equality.
On September 10, 2015, thousands of students who were protesting from private universities held rallies in the capital of Bangladeshi, Dhaka, against the government’s decision to impose a tax on tuition fees. denouncing the use of force by the police during a previous student march in Rampura. Following the protest comes on Thursday, there was a severe traffic growl in the nation's capital and several other cities, causing commuters countless problems. Due to student protests, the government's initial 10% VAT proposal for private universities in the budget plan for 2015–16 was lowered to 7.5 percent. Most of the students worried that because they already live in a nation where the average yearly income is only tk 30,000. the rate of 7.5% VAT would be too expensive for their families to bear.
The slogan "No VAT on Education" is finally gaining traction and turned into a hashtag on social media. Social media helps students connect and communicate with each other and make protests successful. However not only students but also help other professions too. Not only that other digital resources like online news sources, and YouTube videos have been utilized by this movement in Bangladesh. Twitter and Facebook have been particularly helpful in bringing the #novatoneducation hashtag together in Bangladesh and throughout the world. These sites have allowed activists to communicate, organize events, and protest
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Image Source www.flickr.com | Image Capture By nahid aaa |
Bangladesh Quota Reform Movement (2018)
In this age of the 4th industrial revolution, technology has emerged as society's most potent tool. Facebook has become one of the most well-known social networking sites mostly because of its billions of active members. A reductionist thesis called technological determinism seeks to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between technology and the character of society. Social media has significantly supported public protests in countries around the world. It is also seen in Bangladesh. Another valuable movement worth mentioning is the "quota reform movement" organized across Bangladesh through social media, mainly Facebook. Several social media activists, particularly on Facebook, began protesting against the system that allocated 56% of government posts to a select group. However, many qualified applicants are deprived of entering universities and the public sector.
The Bangladesh Quota Reform Movement of 2018 was a student-led campaign in Bangladesh that fought for changes in the government's public sector recruitment system. The movement started on 17 February 2018, but on 8 April 2018, it spread across the country. Only 44% of all government jobs were given to the general public, while 56% were given to various quota holders, including children and grandchildren of freedom fighters, the physically challenged, and many others. Students and job seekers are protesting against the system calling for a cut from 56 to 10%.
Students learned more about this movement by using the Facebook group feature. We Want Quota Reform, also known as "Quota Sanskar Chai," was a significant platform with millions of members. Students heard about this protest from Facebook, a few online news sites, television, and newspapers. Due to their heavy dependence on Facebook, students were inspired to join this movement for the first time by Facebook's informational wave. Only a small percentage of students still depend on traditional media like newspapers and television. Social media, especially Facebook, played a major role in the quota reform movement in Bangladesh as protesters and activists used it to exchange real-time updates and plan protests. When a photo of a bleeding male protester mistakenly believed to be dead went viral on social media, the movement gained steam.
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Image Source: Private univ students join quota reform movement | National | FT | The National Financial Portal (thefinancetoday.net) |
conclusion
In conclusion, According to the Resource Mobilization Theory, social movements need a variety of resources to succeed, and in the modern world, technology is a crucial resource for human rights campaigns. The "No VAT on Education" and "the Bangladesh Quota Reform Movement of 2018" movements are excellent examples of how online tools and social media have made it easier for people to organize and mobilize for social concerns. This movement has shown the importance of social media use as a tool to connect with people, spread awareness, and mobilize support for emerging human rights problems
