Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh’s First Female Premier, Dies at 80

The Iron Lady of Dhaka Bows Out

DHAKA—When dusk settled over the Gangetic delta on Monday, the lights outside the former Prime Minister’s residence flickered like restless fireflies. Inside, Khaleda Zia—three-time premier, widow of assassinated President Ziaur Rahman, and the woman who once told parliament she would “rather die than compromise on sovereignty”—took her last breath. She was 80.

A Life Framed by Turmoil and Triumph

From her first campaign in 1979 to her final release from house arrest in 2020, Zia’s career mirrored Bangladesh’s own lurch between military rule and fragile democracy. Supporters remember the school-teacher-turned-politico who stitched together a conservative coalition, defied a military dictator, and became the world’s longest-serving female prime minister of the 1990s. Critics recall corruption trials, nationwide strikes, and a rivalry with Sheikh Hasina so bitter it earned the nickname “Battle of the Begums.”

“She never asked for permission—only for votes,” said Shafiqul Islam, a grocer in Old Dhaka who kept a faded campaign poster of Zia taped behind his till for three decades.

Final Days in Privacy

Family members say Zia had been battling chronic kidney disease and the after-effects of a 2018 stroke. Despite repeated pleas for medical parole, she remained under tight security at her Gulshan home, receiving only a handful of visitors. On Sunday evening she reportedly asked aides to play the national anthem on her phone; by dawn, her heart had stopped.

The Nation Reacts

• Government offices closed for three days of official mourning.
• Thousands queued outside the Bangabandhu Conference Centre to pay respects, clutching bouquets of marigold and wearing black badges.
• Major opposition party BNP announced a seven-day mourning period, suspending all rallies.
• International tributes poured in from India, Pakistan, and the UN, praising her role in empowering women in South Asian politics.

Legacy at a Crossroads

Analysts say Zia’s death leaves a vacuum in Bangladesh’s opposition landscape. With her son Tarique Rahman living in exile and the BNP fractured, the movement she forged from the ashes of her husband’s assassination now faces an uncertain future. Yet on the streets of Dhaka, many insist her story is far from over.

“Leaders die, symbols don’t,” said university student Ayesha Siddiqua, lighting a candle outside Zia’s residence. “She proved a woman could run this country—twice. That can’t be erased.”

Funeral prayers will be held on Wednesday at the national mosque before her burial next to her husband at the Chandrima Udyan mausoleum—an irony not lost on observers: the same ground where military officers once buried Ziaur Rahman in haste is now a pilgrimage site for democracy.