Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh’s first female prime minister, died on Tuesday at 80 after a protracted illness, according to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). According to reports, Khaleda’s doctors diagnosed her with advanced liver cirrhosis, arthritis, diabetes, and chest and heart difficulties.
Khaleda Zia’s funeral would most likely be held on Wednesday at Manik Mia Avenue in Dhaka, according to Salahuddin Ahmed, a member of the party’s standing committee. Notably, the former prime minister has been battling a variety of diseases for some time. Zia was also convicted in 2018 in a 2008 corruption case involving the misappropriation of monies intended for orphans.
The removal of Sheikh Hasina from office resulted in Zia being released from house detention. The Awami League leader deferred Zia’s prison sentence in 2020 owing to her health, on the condition that her long-time rival refrain from traveling overseas or engaging in political activities. In January of this year, Bangladesh’s Supreme Court acquitted Zia, overturning her prior 10-year prison sentence in the corruption case. The BNP has consistently claimed that the cases were motivated by politics, stating that Hasina’s government at the time went after Zia for political purposes.
Khaleda Zia served as Bangladesh’s prime minister from 1991 to 1996, and again from 2001 to 2006. She was the country’s first female Prime Minister. Khaleda was elected by popular vote in the 1991 national election. During her reign, she reinstated the parliamentary system of government and implemented the caretaker government system to ensure free and fair elections, according to the Daily Star.
When an army-backed caretaker government gained power in 2007, Khaleda and several other political leaders, including Sheikh Hasina, were imprisoned. Zia was eventually released and ran in the 2008 parliamentary election, but her party failed to win. She is survived by her older son Tarique, his wife, and their daughter. Notably, Tarique Rahman returned to Bangladesh on December 25 after 17 years of exile.
