Khaleda Zia in eternal sleep: End of a glorious political era

Reza Mahmud :

A glorious political era of Bangladesh ended as the uncompromising Bangladeshi leader Begum Khaleda Zia passed her long and eventful life on Tuesday morning. She departed at a critical juncture in the nation’s politics-at a time when her presence was once again deeply needed.

Khaleda Zia, the three times prime minister was suffering from sever illness for long and was under medical treatment in Evercare Hospital in the capital.

Earlier, on 23 November 2025, Khaleda Zia was admitted again to Evercare Hospital at night. Finally on 30 December 2025 (Tuesday), the uncompromising leader Begum Khaleda Zia passed away from this world at 6:00 AM.

Chief Adviser Professor Dr. Muhammand Yunus as well world leaders including Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed deep condolence on Khaleda Zias death.

CA Yunus announced a 3-day state mourning and national holiday on Wednesday while, the banks and factories will remained closed today (Wednesday) to express condolence on Khaleda Zia’s death.

The Namaz-e-Janaza of BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia will be held at 2:00pm today at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad complex on Manik Mia Avenue, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said on Tuesday.

She will be laid to rest beside the grave of her husband, former president Ziaur Rahman, following the Janaza today.

Begum Khaleda Zia was never groomed for a political career. Even during the presidency of her husband, Ziaur Rahman-one of the foremost leaders of Bangladesh’s Liberation War-she maintained a reserved public profile and showed little inclination toward public life or politics.

However, the assassination of President Ziaur Rahman in 1981 irrevocably altered her destiny. What followed was the emergence of Khaleda Zia as one of Bangladesh’s most resolute and uncompromising political figures, stepping into politics out of historical necessity.

On 8 February 2018, fascist Hasina government sent her to prison through a politically motivated case and a tailor-made verdict. On 6 October 2018, Khaleda Zia was brought from prison to PG Hospital in a critical condition due to illness.

On 6 August 2024, Khaleda Zia was released by a presidential order. Later, for advanced medical treatment, she traveled to London on a special aircraft arranged by the Emir of Qatar on 7 January 2025.

Ziaur Rahman’s killing left the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leaderless. Riding on Zia’s clean image and enduring popularity, the BNP secured victory in the November 1981 presidential election, with Vice President Justice Abdus Sattar elected president after defeating the Awami League candidate. That mandate, however, proved short-lived. In March 1982, then army chief General HM Ershad seized power through a bloodless military coup, imposed martial law, and dismantled the elected BNP government.

The BNP soon plunged into chaos. Several leaders defected-some willingly, others under pressure-to the Ershad regime, while factionalism deepened within the party. At this critical moment, the BNP required a unifying symbol capable of restoring cohesion and direction. That moment marked the political rebirth of Khaleda Zia-who would go on not only to lead her party but also to spearhead a mass movement that ultimately toppled military rule and paved the way for her to become Bangladesh’s first female prime minister in 1991.

Khaleda Zia formally entered politics on 2 January 1982 by joining the BNP as a general member.
She joined the party as per utmost requests of the BNP leaders to save the party from being ruined.

Journalist Mahfuz Ullah published a book on the life story of Khaleda Zia. He is no longer alive. At the time of the book’s publication, Mahfuz Ullah told the BBC that after becoming a widow at a young age, Khaleda Zia rose to the leadership of a political party in a male-dominated society and secured her position through her own merit.

Khaleda Zia came to the leadership of the BNP in 1982, at a time when General Ershad’s military rule was in place.

BNP leaders believe that it was through nine years of movement against that regime that she established both her own position in politics and that of the party and she becomes renowned as “Uncompromising leader”.

Khaleda Zia was elected vice-chairperson in March 1983 and, by August 1984, rose to become the party’s chairperson.
Both Ziaur Rahman and Begum Khaleda Zia were descendants of Mir Jumla, Subedar of the Subah of Bengal in Mughal India.

Khaleda Zia became a widow at the age of 36. At that time, she was an ordinary housewife. Her household consisted of her two sons, Tarique Rahman and Arafat Rahman. Her full name was Khaleda Khanam, and among family members and relatives, her nickname was ‘Putul.’ She married Ziaur Rahman in 1960, when he was serving as a captain in the Pakistan Army.

The situation brought him to politics. After joining politics, Begum Khaleda Zia launched a sustained struggle to restore democracy, emerging as the principal architect of resistance against the Ershad-led autocracy. In 1983, she played a decisive role in forming a seven-party alliance to intensify the anti-dictatorship movement.

Refusing to legitimise military rule, Khaleda Zia boycotted the 1986 election-unlike the Awami League and Jamaat-e-Islami, which participated under the Jatiya Party government. She declared that joining such polls would only validate an illegitimate regime. Her unwavering stance led to her detention seven times between 1983 and 1990.

Under her leadership, the BNP’s student wing, Jatiotabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), achieved sweeping victories, winning 270 out of 321 student union elections nationwide. These student activists played a crucial role in the mass uprising that ultimately forced Ershad from power. During this period, Khaleda Zia earned her reputation as the “Uncompromising Leader” for her steadfast resistance to military rule and her unyielding commitment to democratic restoration.
She went on to lead the BNP to victory in three general elections and served as prime minister three times. Khaleda Zia holds the rare distinction of never losing an election in any constituency. She was elected from five different constituencies in the 1991, 1996, and 2001 general elections, and in 2008, she secured victories in all three seats she contested.
Her leadership transformed the BNP into the largest opposition party in Bangladesh’s history, winning 116 seats in the June 1996 election. Later, in 2001, she guided a political alliance to a two-thirds parliamentary majority-the first such outcome since parliamentary democracy was restored in 1991.
Khaleda Zia first led the successful movement that ended Ershad’s autocratic rule in December 1990. Decades later, from 2011 onward, she again stood at the forefront of the struggle for democracy and credible elections after the Hasina government abolished the non-partisan caretaker government system-widely viewed as a calculated move to entrench power and undermine electoral legitimacy.
In February 2018, amid intensifying political confrontation, the Hasina government imprisoned Khaleda Zia, effectively silencing her voice and barring her from participating in that year’s election.
Khaleda Zia become sick severely due inadequate environment in the old jail and keeping her isolated and without proper medical care.
Despite severe repression, mass arrests, and the filing of cases against millions of party leaders and activists, the BNP continued the movement she had launched. That struggle ultimately culminated in the downfall of the autocratic Hasina regime during the mass uprising of August last year.
Unlike 1991-when Khaleda Zia led her party to electoral victory following the fall of military rule-she will not be present to guide the BNP in the upcoming February election. This election has emerged as one of the most consequential in Bangladesh’s history, central to political transition and economic recovery.
Khaleda Zia leaves behind her son Tarique Rahman-who returned home on 25 December after more than 17 years in exile-along with her party and millions of supporters, all entrusted with carrying forward her legacy of democratic struggle.