Matia Chowdury is no more

Bangladesh Awami League presidium member Matia Chowdhury passed away on Wednesday.

She was 82.

Matia Chowdhury was undergoing treatment at the Evercare Hospital in the city as she had been ailing for a few days, said family sources.

She was born in Pirojpur on 30 June in 1942. She was elected an MP from Sherpur-2 constituency in the 12th parliamentary elections.

Matia Chowdhury started her political career with leftist politics. She actively took part in the student-people demonstrations against the military dictator Ayub Khan of Pakistan in the  1960’s. She went to jail four times for waging the movement. She was elected the president of Bangladesh Chhatra Union in 1965.

After the independence of the country, Matia joined the Bangladesh Awami League and played vital roles in street movements for the party. She was incarcerated during the military governments in the country.

She served as the agriculture affairs minister of the Awami League government thrice - in 1996, 2009 and 2014.

She was made the deputy leader of the 12th parliament.