Khaleda Zia Dies At 80 in Dhaka; Did You Know Bangladesh's 1st Woman PM Had An Indian Connection?

Dhaka: Bangladesh's former first female prime minister, Khaleda Zia, died on Tuesday morning (local time) at the age of 80 after prolonged illness. She was also the chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Zia was undergoing treatment at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka.

Zia was admitted to the hospital on November 23 for routine tests. However, during these tests, doctors detected a chest infection and decided to keep her under observation. Her condition worsened on November 27, prompting her transfer to the hospital's Coronary Care Unit (CCU). She was suffering from multiple health-related problems, including diabetes, arthritis and heart issues.

Khaleda Zia Had An Indian Connection:

A very few people knew that the former Bangladesh PM had an Indian connection. She was born in Jalpaiguri in 1945. At that time, it was part of the undivided Dinajpur district in British India's Bengal Presidency. Now, Jalpaiguri is one of the districts of India's West Bengal. After partition in 1947, Zia's family had migrated to Dinajpur town in erstwhile East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).

Zia was the first woman prime minister of Bangladesh. She served as the PM of her country thrice between 1991 to 2006. She was married to Ziaur Rahman, the former President of Bangladesh. Ziaur Rahman was killed during a coup in 1981.

She had faced corruption cases, which she said were politically motivated. Zia was arrested in 2007 on charges of corruption. In 2018, she was jailed for 17 years in the Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust corruption cases, but in January 2025, the Supreme Court acquitted Zia in the last corruption case against her.

At the time of her death, members of her family were present at the hospital, including her elder son Tarique Rahman; his wife Zubaida Rahman; their daughter Zaima Rahman. The wife of Zia's late younger son Arafat Rahman Coco, Syeda Shamila Rahman; Coco's two daughters Jahia Rahman and Jafia Rahman; Khaleda's younger brother Shamim Eskander and his wife Kaniz Fatema; the wife of her late brother Sayeed Eskander, Nasrin Eskander; and her sister Selina Islam were among other relatives who were also present at the hospital at the time of her death.