Khaleda Zia Dies At 80: Tracing Begum’s Journey From India’s Jalpaiguri To Bangladesh’s First Woman PM
In 1991, Khaleda Zia became not only the first female leader of Bangladesh, but also just the second woman to lead a Muslim country. Image courtesy: RNA
Already navigating a phase of heavy political transition and uncertainty, Bangladesh on Tuesday (December 30, 2025) mourned the loss of one of its most consequential leaders. Khaleda Zia, former prime minister and long-time chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), passed away at the age of 80, marking the end of an era in the country’s politics.
First woman Prime Minister of the country Zia died at 6 am on December 30 at Dhaka’s Evercare Hospital, where she had been undergoing treatment since late last month. She had been suffering from multiple age-related ailments, including advanced liver cirrhosis, arthritis, diabetes, and complications related to her heart and chest.
Khalea Zia’s funeral is expected to be held at Manik Mia Avenue in the capital on Wednesday (December 31, 2025) according to BNP standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed.
National and political leaders mourn Khaleda Zia
Bangladesh’s interim government chief Muhammad Yunus expressed “deep sorrow” over the former prime minister’s death, calling it a moment of grief for the nation. Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, currently in exile, also offered condolences, acknowledging Khaleda Zia’s role in Bangladesh’s democratic journey.
“As Bangladesh’s first woman prime minister and a key figure in the struggle to establish democracy, her contributions to the nation were significant and will be remembered,” Hasina said, describing her death as a profound loss to the country’s political life.
Khaleda Zia’s early life: From undivided India to East Pakistan
One of the country’s most celebrated political leaders, Zia was born in August 1945 in Jalpaiguri, in undivided India. Following Partition, her family migrated to Dinajpur, now in Bangladesh. She studied at Dinajpur Missionary School and later at Dinajpur Girls’ School, completing her education in 1960.
At just 15 years of age, she married Ziaur Rahman, then a young army officer. For years, Khaleda remained largely out of the public eye, even after her husband emerged as a national figure. When Ziaur Rahman became president in 1977, she was often described as a reserved and private individual devoted to family life.
Assassination that changed Zia’s destiny
Unlike others who are often determined to become a political leader, Zia’s entry into politics followed a national and an even more personal tragedy. In 1981, President Ziaur Rahman was assassinated during a military mutiny. The killing proved to be a turning point, pushing Khaleda into the political arena.
She joined the BNP in 1982 as a general member, rose swiftly to vice chairperson in 1983, and became party chairperson in August 1984. As Bangladesh endured nearly a decade of military rule, Zia emerged as a prominent pro-democracy figure, earning a reputation as an “uncompromising leader.”
Historic rise: Bangladesh’s first woman Prime Minister
That reputation culminated in a landmark victory in the 1991 general election, when Khaleda Zia led the BNP to power, defying expectations of an Awami League win. With that victory, she became Bangladesh’s first woman prime minister and only the second woman to lead a Muslim-majority country.
One of her first major acts in office was restoring parliamentary democracy through the 12th Constitutional Amendment, reintroducing a system with an elected legislature, a prime minister accountable to parliament, an independent judiciary, and a largely ceremonial presidency.
Reforms, Economy and Governance
During her terms in office, Khaleda Zia’s governments introduced compulsory primary education, established the Bangladesh Coast Guard, and pursued free-market economic reforms. Her administration focused on infrastructure development and sought to attract foreign investment.
After a brief and turbulent second term in 1996, Khaleda returned to power in 2001, leading a four-party alliance to a decisive electoral victory. Her third term was marked by economic expansion and reform initiatives. By 2006, Bangladesh’s GDP had reached its highest level since independence, prompting the World Bank to describe the country as “Asia’s next tiger economy.”
Controversies and corruption cases
Despite economic gains, Khaleda Zia’s tenure was not free of controversy. Allegations of corruption dogged her administration. In 2018, she was convicted of embezzling around $252,000 meant for an orphanage trust and sentenced to jail, becoming the only inmate housed in Dhaka’s now-defunct central jail.
Her supporters denounced the case as politically motivated, aimed at sidelining her from politics. In 2020, the Sheikh Hasina-led government granted her conditional release on health grounds, confining her to her Dhaka residence.
Following Hasina’s ouster in August 2024, Khaleda was freed from house arrest. In early 2025, Bangladesh’s Supreme Court acquitted her in the corruption case that had led to her imprisonment.
The ‘Battle of the Begums’
Zia’s political life was inextricably linked with that of Sheikh Hasina, her longtime rival and fellow former prime minister. Their decades-long feud, often described as the “Battle of the Begums,” shaped Bangladesh’s political landscape.
The rivalry traced its roots to the violent upheavals of the 1970s, during the time when Hasina’s father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated in 1975, and Ziaur Rahman’s rise and subsequent assassination in 1981. In the years that followed, the two women alternated in power, defining Bangladesh’s politics through fierce competition.
Khaleda Zia spent her final years battling serious health issues, largely away from active politics. Yet her influence endures, now carried forward by her son, Tarique Rahman. After 17 years in self-exile, Tarique recently returned to Dhaka and is set to contest the February 12, 2026 elections.
Whether he can match the political stature and legacy of his mother remains to be seen.
