Former Bangladesh Prime Minister and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia passed away on Tuesday, December 30, at the age of 80 after a prolonged illness. With her death, an era in Bangladeshi politics marked by intense rivalry and dominance by two women comes to an end.
Khaleda Zia made history in 1991 by becoming Bangladesh’s first female Prime Minister. Along with Awami League leader Sheikh Hasina, she dominated the country’s political landscape for nearly four decades in what came to be known as the “Battle of the Begums”.
Hasina Pays Tribute To Zia
Sheikh Hasina, who herself served as Prime Minister five times before being forced to flee amid violent student protests in August 2024, expressed condolences on Zia’s death. In a statement, Hasina said Khaleda Zia would be remembered for her role in Bangladesh’s democratic struggle and extended sympathies to her son Tarique Rahman and family.
The rivalry between Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina shaped Bangladesh’s politics since the 1980s, often resulting in street violence, political paralysis and deep polarisation.
From Alliance To Rivalry
Khaleda Zia entered politics after the assassination of her husband, President Ziaur Rahman, in 1981. Earlier, Bangladesh’s founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family were assassinated in a military coup in 1975, an event that reshaped the nation’s political trajectory.
Zia and Hasina initially came together to lead a mass movement that toppled military ruler Hussain Mohammad Ershad in 1990. However, their alliance soon gave way to rivalry. In the country’s first free elections in 1991, Khaleda Zia, backed by Jamaat-e-Islami, defeated Hasina to become Prime Minister.
A Polarising Political Legacy
Sheikh Hasina returned to power in 1996, but Zia staged a comeback in 2001 with a landslide victory. The period was marked by political turmoil, including the 2004 grenade attack on Hasina’s rally, an incident for which Zia’s government was later blamed.
With Khaleda Zia’s passing, Bangladesh loses one of its most influential and controversial political figures, whose legacy continues to shape the nation’s democratic discourse.
