While the world was gripped by the devastating Delta wave of the COVID pandemic that dominated headlines, at the same time it witnessed massive mobilisations of people fighting and protesting for their rights. The global pandemic limited movement and gatherings, but citizens around the world took to the streets to voice their concerns. The year 2021 was one of major protests and unrest, beginning with a violent insurrection at the US Capitol and ending with thousands demanding farm laws to be repealed in India.

Farmers’ protests in India

In one of the biggest protests in the history of protests that lasted over a year, farmers from across India sat on a dharna around the borders of the national capital. The protests began in August 2020 in rural parts of Punjab, the agricultural lifeline of India, and ended on December 11, 2021, only after the contentious farm laws were repealed by the Narendra Modi government.

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Sudan’s pro-democracy protests

In October, Sudan’s military dissolved the government and put prime minister Abdalla Hamdok under house arrest. It sparked the latest chapter in the country’s crisis since long-term authoritarian President Omar al-Bashir was overthrown in 2019. Since then, thousands of people have taken to the streets and demanded a civilian-led transition to democracy. The protesters faced brute military force, with dozens killed since the protests began.

Alexei Navalny protests in Russia

On January 23, protests broke out in more than 100 cities in Russia over the detention of opposition leader Alexei upon his return to Russia from Germany. Navalny had been medically evacuated after his poisoning with the Novichock nerve agent the previous year. His arrest triggered the largest protest since the “snow revolution” against Putin’s re-election in 2011-13.

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US Capitol Attack

US President Donald Trump’s relentless efforts to reverse the results of the 2020 election took a dangerous turn earlier this year in January when an armed and angry mob of his supporters stormed Capitol Hill and clashed with police. A woman was fatally shot as pro-Trump protestors breached barricades and advanced into the halls of the Capitol building, smashing windows and brawling with police officers in what is widely being considered one of the worst security breaches in US history.

Protests against climate change, abortion laws, military coups marked 2021 

In Myanmar, the military seized power on February 1 and detained Aung San Suu Kyi, the country’s political leader. In reaction, hundreds of thousands of protestors joined a general strike that brought cities to a halt. In March, security forces opened fire on protestors and killed more than 100 people in one bloody day, including children. By mid-December, activists say more than 1,300 people had died protesting.