As I sit to write about this powerful personality, I realise that by now most people have already written all things I want to say about her -- how she turned from being the conventional and charming wife of the army chief to a politician extraordinaire. How she left the comfort of the drawing room to take to the streets alongside the people, fighting for democracy.
It was her deep commitment to democracy that erased the word "compromise" from her dictionary. When her husband was assassinated in 1981, BNP was left without a leader strong enough to take the party through those turbulent days. She stepped forward and took the reins of the beleaguered party in its darkest hour. If anyone had qualms about this quiet gentlewomen taking on such monumental responsibilities, these doubts were soon dispelled. She was no Stepford wife. She was neither submissive nor docile, but proved to have steely resolve in taking the party forward, in fighting for a better Bangladesh.
Both as prime minister and as leader of the opposition, she displayed a mettle only matched by her astute political understanding. But it was her refusal to compromise that perhaps has been her most lauded strength. She refused to fade into the background when her husband died. She refused to relent and take part in the elections under the military rule HM Ershad, while other parties and leaders did. She stayed on the streets, determined to win the struggle till the autocrat was toppled. No wonder she swept to power in the free and fair election held under a caretaker government following the fall of Ershad. The doors of democracy opened.
Her vicious critics who still spew out venom about her, only do discredit to themselves. They need to take a page from her book. Despite all the unspeakable abuse the now-deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina hurled at her, never had she launched into a personal attack against Hasina or her family
During her second term in office when the opposition rallied against the government, demanding a caretaker government, rather than letting the controversy about her rule linger, she called for elections under a caretaker government.
In the opposition, she was tormented and taunted by her opponent Sheikh Hasina and Awami League. But she remained an iconic leader to BNP, to the country, refusing to relent in her commitment to democracy. She never lost a single election in her life, such was her popularity, such was the faith of people in her.
She was unlawfully and cruelly evicted from her house in the Dhaka cantonment by Sheikh Hasina's Awami League government. She was incarcerated. She was kept in an abandoned, damp and abandoned jail in Old Dhaka, ailing and without proper medical care.
She could have escaped from all this had she compromised, stepped back from politics and retired into a life comfort and security. But she did not. She refused to bow to the threats, give in to the lures. She was a fearless leader, the embodiment of democracy.
Had she no flaws? Of course she did. She was human. She was a political leader in a country rife with conspiracies - local, regional and international. But her achievements, sacrifices, political acumen and strong leadership far outweighed any chinks in her armor.
Now she had passed away. The nation mourns. People from all walks of life wept at the news of Khaleda Zia's death. Her vicious critics who still spew out venom about her, only do discredit to themselves. They need to take a page from her book. Despite all the unspeakable abuse the now-deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina hurled at her, never had she launched into a personal attack against Hasina or her family. Never had she used vitriolic speech against them. Hers was a political battle, not a personal vendetta.
History has much to learn from the life of Begum Khaleda Zia. May she rest in peace.