Who are the protesters demanding an end to job quotas in Bangladesh?

Experts say lack of jobs for university graduates driving unrest in the South Asian country.

Bangladesh has been rocked by student protests for nearly three weeks.

Since July 1, university students have been protesting across the country to demand the removal of quotas in government jobs after the High Court reinstated a rule that reserves nearly one-third of posts for the descendants of those who participated in the country’s 1971 liberation movement.

Following the High Court’s ruling in June, 56 percent of government jobs are now reserved for specific groups, including children and grandchildren of freedom fighters, women, and people from “backward districts”.

Student protesters have clashed with police and members of Bangladesh Chhatra League, a student wing of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s governing Awami League party.

Six people have been killed and hundreds of others injured.

The demonstrations are notable not only for their size and intensity, but also their demographics.

“Look at who is protesting,” Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center, told Al Jazeera.

“It’s not just a case of grassroots demonstrations led by the poor. These are university students most of whom are above working class … The fact that you have so many students who are so angry speaks to the desperation of finding jobs. They may not be desperately poor, but they still need to find good, stable jobs.”

About 67 percent of Bangladesh’s 170 million people are aged 15-64 and more than a quarter are aged 15 and 29, according to the International Labour Organization.

“So you’re looking at a situation where there’s a significant working-age population,” Kugelman said.

Vina Nadjibulla, vice president of research