A TRIBUTE TO BEGUM KHALEDA ZIA

The death of Begum Khaleda Zia at 6 am on December 30 marked the end of her four decades of political career that saw her become the first woman prime minister of Muslim-majority Bangladesh.

- Farid Hossain

She died under treatment at Dhaka’s Evercare Hospital after a prolonged illness aged 80. Thrust into politics following the 1981 assassination of her husband, military general-turned President Ziaur Rahman, Khaleda will be remembered for her uncompromising fight for democracy against the autocratic ruler, General Hussain Muhammad Ershad, and then the authoritarian regime of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. In her pro-democracy movement against Ershad, she and her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) were not alone. Hasina’s Awami League and its allies were also in the battle for democracy. For about nine years, their mission was common: ouster of Ershad, paving the way for a free and fair election. After Ershad’s downfall, they, however, parted their ways.