Bangladesh Mourns Former PM Khaleda Zia, Dead at 79

Bangladesh Mourns Khaleda Zia, First Female Prime Minister, Dead at 79

Bangladesh is in mourning after the death of Khaleda Zia, the country’s first female prime minister and one of its most influential political figures, who passed away on DEC/30/25 at the age of 79 following a prolonged illness.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) confirmed that Zia died at 6:00am local time at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka, where she had been undergoing treatment since late November. Doctors said she was suffering from multiple complications, including advanced liver cirrhosis, heart and lung problems, diabetes, and arthritis.

The government has announced three days of state mourning, with her funeral scheduled for Wednesday. Funeral prayers will be held outside parliament after midday prayers, and she will be laid to rest beside her late husband, former president Ziaur Rahman, who was assassinated in 1981.

A political giant exits the stage

Khaleda Zia’s death marks the close of a political chapter that shaped Bangladesh for more than three decades. Alongside her longtime rival Sheikh Hasina, she dominated the country’s politics in what came to be known as the era of the “battling begums”.

Both women led mass movements against military rule, both served multiple terms as prime minister, and both polarised the nation like few others. While their rivalry often paralysed governance, it also defined Bangladesh’s democratic struggle.

Interim leader Muhammad Yunus described Zia as a “symbol of the democratic movement” and said the nation had lost “a great guardian”. He appealed for calm and dignity as emotions run high across the country.

Thousands of supporters gathered outside the hospital and later near her residence in Dhaka, many in disbelief despite weeks of reports about her failing health.

From tragedy to power

Born on August 15, 1946, in Dinajpur, Khaleda Zia never initially sought political power. Her entry into politics followed tragedy.

Her husband, Ziaur Rahman, a war hero of Bangladesh’s 1971 independence struggle, became president in 1977 and founded the BNP a year later. His assassination in a failed military coup in 1981 thrust Khaleda — then a 35-year-old mother of two — into leadership.

Dismissed early on as politically inexperienced, she proved critics wrong. Zia led mass protests against military ruler Hussain Muhammad Ershad, eventually helping bring about his downfall in 1990.

In 1991, she won Bangladesh’s first widely recognised free election, becoming the country’s first female prime minister and only the second woman to lead a democratic government in a Muslim-majority nation after Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto.

Achievements, controversies, and rivalry

During her time in office, Zia restored the parliamentary system, expanded primary education, opened the economy to foreign investment, and strengthened civilian rule. She lost power in 1996, returned with a landslide in 2001, and remained a central figure even while out of office.

But her career was also marred by controversy — allegations of corruption, street politics, election boycotts, and political deadlock. The bitter rivalry with Hasina culminated in repeated crises, including the 2007 military-backed emergency rule, during which both leaders were jailed.

In 2018, Zia was convicted in a corruption case that she and her party said was politically motivated. Her health deteriorated in prison, and she was later placed under house arrest. Earlier this year, Bangladesh’s Supreme Court acquitted her and her son, Tarique Rahman, clearing a major legal hurdle for the BNP.

A nation at a crossroads

Zia’s death comes at a volatile moment for Bangladesh. Sheikh Hasina has been overthrown and exiled, student movements have reshaped politics, and national elections are scheduled for February.

Her son Tarique Rahman, who returned from exile just days ago, is now expected to lead the BNP into the polls and is widely seen as a prime ministerial contender.

In a deeply personal statement, Rahman described his mother not only as a national leader but as “a tender and loving mother” who endured arrests, persecution, and denial of medical care without breaking.

End of an era

Khaleda Zia was admired, criticised, loved, and opposed — often at the same time. But even her fiercest critics acknowledge her place in Bangladesh’s history.

With her passing, the country isn’t just burying a former prime minister.
It is closing the chapter on a political generation that defined Bangladesh’s post-independence journey — for better and for worse.

What comes next will shape the nation’s future.
But today, Bangladesh pauses — in grief, reflection, and uncertainty.