Her close family would call her by her nickname Putul. Her formal name was Khaleda Khanam. Later, marrying Captain (later Lieutenant General) Ziaur Rahman, she became Khaleda Zia, the wife of the army chief and later the president. Fate drew her onto the slippery path of politics. After the death of President Ziaur Rahman, amid a vacuum, she took charge of his party, BNP. For eight years she stood in the front ranks of the movement against the autocratic ruler Ershad. Under her leadership, BNP, which had fallen into disarray, was reborn. From a homemaker, Khaleda Zia turned into a politician.
In the 1980s, she refused to take part in elections held under the incumbent ruler Ershad. For this, she was arrested several times and placed under house arrest. Yet she remained steadfast in her demand for a national election conducted by a neutral caretaker government. In the public mind, she came to be known as the “uncompromising leader.” Riding on this charismatic authority she created through her movement and personality, she defied all predictions and led her party to victory in the 1991 parliamentary election. She became the country’s first woman prime minister. It may be said that she was also the country’s first prime minister to come to power through a free and fair election. That achievement can never be taken away.
She served three terms as prime minister, though her second term lasted barely a couple of months. She ignored the very caretaker system through which she had come to the centre of power, giving rise to a crisis. The attempt to cling to power by holding a one-sided election in February 1996 was ill-advised. In the face of an opposition movement, she accepted the caretaker government system and introduced the necessary constitutional amendments. Under this arrangement, two consecutive elections were held.
For a long time, Khaleda Zia had been the symbol of party unity. Whether the fabric of the party’s cohesion will weaken in her absence remains to be seen. This is a challenge the BNP must confront
It seemed that parliamentary democracy would finally take institutional shape. But it stumbled once again. To install a preferred individual as head of the caretaker government, she extended the retirement age of Supreme Court judges. This again created a political crisis. Against this backdrop occurred the military-backed takeover known as 1/11. Politics was pushed onto the back stove. Khaleda Zia was arrested. Her children were subjected to harassment and persecution. Even so, she did not enter into any compromise with the architects of 1/11. She had to pay a price for that.
Caught completely unprepared, her party was left with just 30 seats in the 2008 election. Awami League formed the government with its allies.
Thereafter, Khaleda Zia was subjected to sustained envy and political vendetta. She was framed in a trivial case from the 1/11 period and sentenced to prison. At one point, it seemed she might never again walk in the free air and light in her lifetime. The July 2024 movement changed the situation entirely. Sheikh Hasina fell from power and left the country.
Khaleda Zia was freed on 6 August. She issued a call for unity. In a video message to a BNP rally in Dhaka on 7 August, she said, “Let us strengthen the hands of the youth to build the Bangladesh of tomorrow on the foundations of peace, progress and equality. Let us build a society not of destruction or revenge, but of love, peace and knowledge.” She did not make a single negative comment about her principal political rival. Her sense of courtesy, restraint and magnanimity will remain a benchmark in politics.
She set an unmatched record of never losing a single seat in any election held under a neutral government. Before even completing a decade in politics, she became the nation’s chief executive. This, too, is a singular achievement in the democratic journey
Khaleda Zia had been suffering from multiple illnesses. Her health complications increased after being imprisoned. She was no longer able to be active in politics. Ultimately, she had to yield to her ailments.
Within BNP, there are various currents and factions. Ideological politics has long been constrained to books. Factionalism exists within the party. For a long time, Khaleda Zia had been the symbol of party unity. Whether the fabric of the party’s cohesion will weaken in her absence remains to be seen. This is a challenge the BNP must confront.
How will history remember Khaleda Zia? BNP was born in the heart of power, under the leadership of a popular general. Through the anti-Ershad movement of the 1980s, Khaleda Zia revived the party. At the same time, she became one of the country’s most popular leaders. She set an unmatched record of never losing a single seat in any election held under a neutral government. Before even completing a decade in politics, she became the nation’s chief executive. This, too, is a singular achievement in the democratic journey.
There is no doubt that, at this moment, the country has no other leader as charismatic as Khaleda Zia. Today (30 December 2025), her death has created a vacuum, and we will have to wait to see how it is filled. In history, no one is indispensable. Yet some leave a lasting imprint on the public consciousness through their achievements and personality. Khaleda Zia has certainly secured her place in history.