Millions of people around the world admire the work, values and accomplishments of Professor Muhammad Yunus, the Grameen Bank that he founded, and his vision of designing business for social benefit. Yet today this Nobel Peace Laureate is the target of spurious political attacks by his own government. Today a group of his friends and allies around the world are launching a new platform to share information and updates in solidarity with Professor Yunus.
In the mid-1970s, Prof. Yunus helped establish the concept of microfinance through a personal loan of $27 to 42 destitute weavers and merchants in Bangladesh. In 1983, Prof. Yunus institutionalized that pilot project by founding Grameen Bank through the adoption of a special ordinance by the government of Bangladesh. He was fueled by the belief that credit and access to financial services is a fundamental human right that is essential to realizing other human rights.
Today, Grameen Bank has more than 8.9 million members – 96 percent of whom are women – and has lent over $21 billion in 81,100 villages across the country, allowing millions of women and their families the opportunity to lift themselves out of extreme poverty. The Grameen model has been replicated in more than 100 countries around the world and now benefits tens of millions of others. In 2006, Prof. Yunus and the borrowers of Grameen Bank were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their groundbreaking work. In April 2013, the United States Congress awarded Prof. Yunus the Congressional Gold Medal.
Most recently, on the occasion of International Women’s Day, leading diplomats in Bangladesh cited the power of microfinance to decrease violence against women in an influential joint opinion article. They wrote, “The creation and expansion of microfinance that prioritises women entrepreneurs has increased female participation in economic activities and is among Bangladesh’s most significant contributions to increased global prosperity.” While many have contributed to astonishing growth and success of microfinance in Bangladesh, Prof. Yunus stands alone as its iconic and tireless champion and innovator.
Despite Prof. Yunus’ track record of working to better the lives of Bangladeshis and the world’s poor, since late 2010 Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has engaged in a campaign against him and the institutions he created. In recent months, the campaign against Professor Yunus has intensified.
The prime minister has continued to voice accusations against Prof. Yunus of tax evasion and of blocking the approval of a World Bank loan for the building of the Padma Bridge, going so far as to say he should be tried for a “crime”. These accusations have repeatedly been refuted by Prof. Yunus.
Along with the attacks on Prof. Yunus, the government of Bangladesh has clamped down more broadly on civil society and the media, which Human Rights Watch summarized in this press release published in January 2017, entitled “Bangladesh: Disappearances, Clampdown on Critics.”
For a number of years a kind of awkward stalemate had pervaded the government’s efforts to violate the independence of Grameen Bank, one of the most effective and well-run institutions in Bangladesh, against the will of its elected board members.
However, the campaign against Prof. Yunus himself is now ratcheting up. An international group of volunteers and friends of Prof. Yunus are launching this site to set the record straight and provide a platform for solidarity with him and his work. We are thankful for everyone around the world who has expressed their support for Professor Yunus so far. Your support is urgently needed at this time.
Here you can find a summary of what has gone on since this crisis began in late 2010. This site will continue to be updated by those with knowledge of what’s happening in Bangladesh, including ways that supporters can actively engage to defend Professor Yunus and his life’s work.
– Joanne Carter, Executive Director, RESULTS and RESULTS Educational Fund and Chair, Protect Yunus Initiative.
You can contact the Protect Yunus Team by email at protectmdyunus@gmail.com to make suggestions, share resources and ask questions. This blog was set up to create a clearinghouse for information related to protecting Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus. It is a collaboration between groups and individuals around the world.