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Zia was born into a Bengali Muslim family in 1946 in Jalpaiguri. During the Liberation War of Bangladesh, after her husband joined the Mukti Bahini, she, along with her sons, was detained by the Pakistani Forces. After her husband's assassination in 1981, Zia became active in politics and became the leader of the BNP in 1984. She and her party played a leading role in the pro-democracy movement against Hussain Muhammad Ershad. They boycotted the 1986 and 1988 general elections, thus securing the reputation of an "uncompromising leader". She, along with Sheikh Hasina, helped lead the 1990 mass uprising.

Zia's first premiership followed the BNP victory in the 1991 general election, and saw the introduction of educational, economic, and administrative reforms. Her party also formed a short-lived government after the controversial February 1996 election, which was boycotted by the opposition. During her second premiership, which began with her party's victory in the 2001 election and lasted until 2006, Bangladesh witnessed growth in GDP, foreign investment and female literacy. Her government pushed a Look East foreign policy, strengthening the country's relations with East and Southeast Asian countries.

Her second premiership concluded during a a political crisis and resulting military takeover in 2007. The military-backed caretaker government charged Zia and her two sons with corruption. Her party lost the 2008 election to Sheikh Hasina's Awami League, and boycotted the 2014 election, creating another political crisis in 2015. In 2018, Zia was sentenced to a total of 17 years in prison for corruption. However, she was acquitted of all charges in 2024, following the July Revolution, and was released upon a presidential order. After years of prolonged illness, Zia died on 30 December 2025 in a hospital and was given a state funeral.

Background

=================

Early life and education

=================

Khaleda Khanam "Putul" was born in 1946 in Jalpaiguri in Bengal Province, British India (now in West Bengal, India) to a Bengali Muslim family from Fulgazi, in present-day Bangladesh. She was the third of five children of tea businessman father Iskandar Ali Majumder, who was from Feni, and mother Taiyaba Majumder, who was from Chandbari village in Itahar in West Dinajpur (now in West Bengal, India). According to Iskander Ali, the family migrated to Dinajpur in East Bengal, Pakistan after the Partition of Bengal in 1947. Khaleda described herself as "self-educated", and there are no records of her graduating from high school; initially, she attended Dinajpur Missionary School and later Dinajpur Girls' School. In 1960, she married Ziaur Rahman, then a captain in the Pakistan Army. After marriage, she changed her name to Khaleda Zia by taking her husband's first name as her surname. She reportedly enrolled in Surendranath College in Dinajpur but moved to West Pakistan to stay with her husband in 1965. Her husband was deployed as an army officer during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. In March 1969, the couple shifted back to East Pakistan. Due to Rahman's posting in the army, the family then moved to Chittagong.

Family

=================

Zia's first son, Tarique "Pinu" Rahman (b. 1967), got involved in politics and went on to become the acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Her second son, Arafat "Koko" Rahman (b. 1969), died of a cardiac arrest in 2015. Zia's sister, Khurshid Jahan (1939–2006), served as the Minister of Women and Children Affairs during 2001–2006. Her younger brother, Sayeed Iskander (1953–2012), was also a politician who served as a Jatiya Sangsad member from the Feni-1 constituency during 2001–2006. Her second brother, Shamim Iskandar, is a retired flight engineer of Bangladesh Biman. Her second sister is Selina Islam.

Bangladesh Liberation War

=================

Zia arrived in Dhaka from Chittagong on 16 May 1971. She arrived by launch in Narayanganj in the evening with her two children, Tarique Rahman and Arafat Rahman, and the wife of Colonel Mahfuz. From there, her elder sister, Khurshid Jahan, and her sister's husband, Mozammel Haque, took them to their house in Khilgaon, Dhaka, in a jeep. This news also spread in just 10 days through intelligence activities. On 26 May, her brother-in-law, Mozammel Haque, learned that the Pakistani soldiers had found out about her location. From then on, the hiding began. From this house to that house, some were unable to give place to 'Begum' for fear of persecution. Her brother-in-law, Mozammel Haque, relocated Zia and her two sons, Arafat and Tarique, to another place on 28 May, and they moved again on 3 June. Then, from an unknown address, Zia's wife started living in the Siddheshwari house of SK Abdullah, deputy director of the Geological Survey Department. Begum Zia remained in that house until she was arrested by the Pakistani occupation forces on the morning of 2 July.

After her arrest, Zia and her two children were kept in a room in the old Parliament building. From there, they were taken to a house inside the Dhaka Cantonment. She was detained there until the first week of December 1971. She was released on the morning of 16 December.

On 21 August 1971, Ziaur Rahman wrote a letter about his wife. The then Pakistani Army Major General Jamshed was in GHQ Dhaka of the Eastern Command. She was detained under him. When Rahman was working in the Punjab Regiment of West Pakistan, Jamshed was his commander. Zia's letter was posted by Shafayat Jamil from the 'occupied' area and reached Major General Jamshed.

After the Pakistani Army surrendered, Zia and her two sons were taken by plane from Dhaka to Shamshernagar in Sylhet. General Arora made the arrangements at the request of Ziaur Rahman. Major Chowdhury Khalequzzaman and Captain Oli Ahmed received them at the Shamshernagar airport and took them to a local rest house. After a very short time in Shamshernagar, Zia and their two sons went to Comilla Cantonment with Ziaur Rahman. In 1977, her husband became the country's president, with Zia serving has first lady. On 30 May 1981, Zia's husband, Ziaur Rahman, was assassinated. After his death, on 2 January 1982, she got involved in politics by first becoming a member of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) – the party that was founded by Rahman.

Anti-Ershad movement

=================

In March 1982, the then chief of the Bangladesh Army, Hussain Muhammad Ershad, launched a coup against BNP politician and President Abdus Sattar and became the Chief Martial Law Administrator (CMLA) of the country. This marked the beginning of a nine-year-long military regime in Bangladesh.

BNP and 7-party alliance

=================

Zia, from the first day of Ershad's rule, protested military rule and had a very uncompromising stance. She became the senior vice-president of the BNP by May 1983. Under her active leadership, the BNP started discussing the possibilities of a unified movement with six other parties on 12 August 1983 and formed a '7-party alliance' by the first week of September 1983. The BNP, led by Zia, also reached an action-based agreement with other political parties to launch a movement against Ershad.

On 30 September 1983, Zia led the first major public rally in front of the party office and was hailed by the party workers. On 28 November 1983, she took part in the "Gherao movement" (encircling) the Secretariat building at Dhaka along with the alliance leaders, which was quelled by Ershad's police force, and she was put under house arrest on the same day.

Due to the deteriorating health conditions, Justice Abdus Sattar resigned from the position of BNP chief on 13 January 1984 and was replaced by Zia, who was then the senior vice president of the party. In May 1984, she was elected as the chairperson of the party in a council by councillors.

After assuming the position of party chief, Zia spearheaded the movement against Ershad. In 1984, along with other parties, she declared 6 February as the 'Demand Day' and 14 February as 'Protest Day'. Countrywide rallies were organized on those days, and activists of the movement died on the streets fighting the ruthless police force loyal to President Ershad.

The 7-party alliance held a countrywide 'Mass Resistance Day' on 9 July 1984. In support of their demand for the immediate withdrawal of martial law, the opposition forces called for a countrywide gherao and demonstrations from 16 to 20 September and a full-day hartal on 27 September 1984.

The protests continued in 1985 as well, and as a result, in March of the same year, the Ershad-led government tightened the grip of martial law and put Zia under house arrest.

Boycotting the 1986 election

=================

To divert the political pressure, Lt. General Ershad declared a date for a fresh election in 1986. Initially, the two major opposition alliances, the '7-party alliance' led by the BNP and the '15-party alliance' led by the Awami League, discussed the possibilities of participating in the election, forming a greater election alliance to catch Ershad off guard. However, the Awami League refused to form any election alliance, and Sheikh Hasina, in a public rally on 19 March 1986, declared that anyone who would join the election under Ershad would be a 'national traitor'.

However, Sheikh Hasina's Awami League, along with the Communist Party of Bangladesh and six other parties, joined the election under Ershad, resulting in the split between the 15-party alliance. On the other hand, Zia uncompromisingly declared the election illegal and urged people to resist the election.

The government of Ershad put her under house arrest on the eve of the election, while the Awami League, the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, the Communist Party of Bangladesh, and other smaller parties took part in the election only to lose to the Jatiya Party.

Zia's uncompromising attitude and her defiance of the military dictatorship created an image of an "uncompromising leader" in the eyes of the people. Gowher Rizvi, in his analysis, wrote:

The ability to stand up against governmental oppression, to boycott elections, to refuse offices of profit, or to suffer imprisonment are considered evidence of personal sacrifices something which is greatly admired by the people of a country where politics is generally an unabashed pursuit of power and personal aggrandizement. From the moment Khaleda was installed as the leader of the BNP, she has publicly remained opposed to participation in any election held while Ershad was in power. Her popularity soared after she boycotted the polls in 1986.

Later in that year, on the eve of the 1986 Bangladeshi presidential election, Zia was put under house arrest once again.

Fall of Ershad

=================

Zia was put under house arrest multiple times from 1986 to 1990 by Ershad's military government.

On 13 October 1986, she was put under house arrest right before the 1986 Bangladeshi presidential election and was released only after the election. She took the lead on her release and initiated a fresh movement with a view to deposing Ershad. She called a half-day strike on 10 November of the same year, only to be put under house arrest again.

On 24 January 1987, when Sheikh Hasina joined the parliament session with other Awami League leaders, Zia was on the street demanding the dissolution of the parliament. She called for a mass rally in Dhaka, which turned violent, and top leaders of the BNP were arrested. After that, a series of strikes was organized by the 7-party alliance led by Zia from February to July 1987. On 22 October of the year, Zia's BNP, in collaboration with Sheikh Hasina's Awami League, declared the "Dhaka Seize" programme on 10 November to overthrow Ershad.

As a countermeasure, Ershad's government rounded up thousands of political leaders and activists, but on the day of the seizure, there was complete chaos on the streets, and dozens died. The government put Zia under house arrest after detaining her from Purbani Hotel, from where she was coordinating the movement. On 11 December 1987, she was set free, but she immediately held a press conference and claimed that she was "prepared to die" to depose the dictator.

After an eventful 1987, the two following years went relatively calmly with sporadic violence. A fresh wave of movements started when the BNP's student wing, Chatra Dal, started winning most of the student union elections across the country. By 1990, Chatra Dal took control of 270 out of 321 student unions in the country, riding on the popularity of Zia. They also won all the posts of Dhaka University Central Students' Union in 1990. The new committee of DUCSU, led by Amanullah Aman, declared fresh programmes to overthrow Ershad in line with the BNP's programmes. On 10 October 1990, in a violent turn of events, Chatra Dal leader Naziruddin Jehad died in Dhaka in clashes with pro-government forces, which paved the way for a greater alliance between all the opposition forces.

After two-month-long protests, the BNP, led by Zia, along with other political parties, compelled Ershad to offer his resignation on 4 December 1990.

Premiership

=================

Zia served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh three times. Her first term was from March 1991 to February 1996, the second term lasted for a few weeks after February 1996, and the third term was from October 2001 to October 2006. She was particularly remembered for her role in making education accessible and introducing some key economic reforms.

First term (1991–1996)

=================

A neutral caretaker government in Bangladesh oversaw elections on 27 February 1991, following eight years of Ershad's presidency. The BNP won 140 seats;– 11 short of a simple majority. Zia was sworn in as the country's first female prime minister on 20 March 1991 with the support of a majority of the deputies in parliament. The acting president, Shahabuddin Ahmed, granted Zia nearly all the powers that were vested in the president at the time, effectively returning Bangladesh to a parliamentary system. With a unanimous vote, the parliament passed the 12th amendment to the constitution in August 1991, formally ending 16 years of presidential rule.

Zia was born into a Bengali Muslim family in 1946 in Jalpaiguri. During the Liberation War of Bangladesh, after her husband joined the Mukti Bahini, she, along with her sons, was detained by the Pakistani Forces. After her husband's assassination in 1981, Zia became active in politics and became the leader of the BNP in 1984. She and her party played a leading role in the pro-democracy movement against Hussain Muhammad Ershad. They boycotted the 1986 and 1988 general elections, thus securing the reputation of an "uncompromising leader". She, along with Sheikh Hasina, helped lead the 1990 mass uprising.

Zia's first premiership followed the BNP victory in the 1991 general election, and saw the introduction of educational, economic, and administrative reforms. Her party also formed a short-lived government after the controversial February 1996 election, which was boycotted by the opposition. During her second premiership, which began with her party's victory in the 2001 election and lasted until 2006, Bangladesh witnessed growth in GDP, foreign investment and female literacy. Her government pushed a Look East foreign policy, strengthening the country's relations with East and Southeast Asian countries.

Her second premiership concluded during a a political crisis and resulting military takeover in 2007. The military-backed caretaker government charged Zia and her two sons with corruption. Her party lost the 2008 election to Sheikh Hasina's Awami League, and boycotted the 2014 election, creating another political crisis in 2015. In 2018, Zia was sentenced to a total of 17 years in prison for corruption. However, she was acquitted of all charges in 2024, following the July Revolution, and was released upon a presidential order. After years of prolonged illness, Zia died on 30 December 2025 in a hospital and was given a state funeral.

Background

=================

Early life and education

=================

Khaleda Khanam "Putul" was born in 1946 in Jalpaiguri in Bengal Province, British India (now in West Bengal, India) to a Bengali Muslim family from Fulgazi, in present-day Bangladesh. She was the third of five children of tea businessman father Iskandar Ali Majumder, who was from Feni, and mother Taiyaba Majumder, who was from Chandbari village in Itahar in West Dinajpur (now in West Bengal, India). According to Iskander Ali, the family migrated to Dinajpur in East Bengal, Pakistan after the Partition of Bengal in 1947. Khaleda described herself as "self-educated", and there are no records of her graduating from high school; initially, she attended Dinajpur Missionary School and later Dinajpur Girls' School. In 1960, she married Ziaur Rahman, then a captain in the Pakistan Army. After marriage, she changed her name to Khaleda Zia by taking her husband's first name as her surname. She reportedly enrolled in Surendranath College in Dinajpur but moved to West Pakistan to stay with her husband in 1965. Her husband was deployed as an army officer during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. In March 1969, the couple shifted back to East Pakistan. Due to Rahman's posting in the army, the family then moved to Chittagong.

Family

=================

Zia's first son, Tarique "Pinu" Rahman (b. 1967), got involved in politics and went on to become the acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Her second son, Arafat "Koko" Rahman (b. 1969), died of a cardiac arrest in 2015. Zia's sister, Khurshid Jahan (1939–2006), served as the Minister of Women and Children Affairs during 2001–2006. Her younger brother, Sayeed Iskander (1953–2012), was also a politician who served as a Jatiya Sangsad member from the Feni-1 constituency during 2001–2006. Her second brother, Shamim Iskandar, is a retired flight engineer of Bangladesh Biman. Her second sister is Selina Islam.

Bangladesh Liberation War

=================

Zia arrived in Dhaka from Chittagong on 16 May 1971. She arrived by launch in Narayanganj in the evening with her two children, Tarique Rahman and Arafat Rahman, and the wife of Colonel Mahfuz. From there, her elder sister, Khurshid Jahan, and her sister's husband, Mozammel Haque, took them to their house in Khilgaon, Dhaka, in a jeep. This news also spread in just 10 days through intelligence activities. On 26 May, her brother-in-law, Mozammel Haque, learned that the Pakistani soldiers had found out about her location. From then on, the hiding began. From this house to that house, some were unable to give place to 'Begum' for fear of persecution. Her brother-in-law, Mozammel Haque, relocated Zia and her two sons, Arafat and Tarique, to another place on 28 May, and they moved again on 3 June. Then, from an unknown address, Zia's wife started living in the Siddheshwari house of SK Abdullah, deputy director of the Geological Survey Department. Begum Zia remained in that house until she was arrested by the Pakistani occupation forces on the morning of 2 July.

After her arrest, Zia and her two children were kept in a room in the old Parliament building. From there, they were taken to a house inside the Dhaka Cantonment. She was detained there until the first week of December 1971. She was released on the morning of 16 December.

On 21 August 1971, Ziaur Rahman wrote a letter about his wife. The then Pakistani Army Major General Jamshed was in GHQ Dhaka of the Eastern Command. She was detained under him. When Rahman was working in the Punjab Regiment of West Pakistan, Jamshed was his commander. Zia's letter was posted by Shafayat Jamil from the 'occupied' area and reached Major General Jamshed.

After the Pakistani Army surrendered, Zia and her two sons were taken by plane from Dhaka to Shamshernagar in Sylhet. General Arora made the arrangements at the request of Ziaur Rahman. Major Chowdhury Khalequzzaman and Captain Oli Ahmed received them at the Shamshernagar airport and took them to a local rest house. After a very short time in Shamshernagar, Zia and their two sons went to Comilla Cantonment with Ziaur Rahman. In 1977, her husband became the country's president, with Zia serving has first lady. On 30 May 1981, Zia's husband, Ziaur Rahman, was assassinated. After his death, on 2 January 1982, she got involved in politics by first becoming a member of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) – the party that was founded by Rahman.

Anti-Ershad movement

=================

In March 1982, the then chief of the Bangladesh Army, Hussain Muhammad Ershad, launched a coup against BNP politician and President Abdus Sattar and became the Chief Martial Law Administrator (CMLA) of the country. This marked the beginning of a nine-year-long military regime in Bangladesh.

BNP and 7-party alliance

=================

Zia, from the first day of Ershad's rule, protested military rule and had a very uncompromising stance. She became the senior vice-president of the BNP by May 1983. Under her active leadership, the BNP started discussing the possibilities of a unified movement with six other parties on 12 August 1983 and formed a '7-party alliance' by the first week of September 1983. The BNP, led by Zia, also reached an action-based agreement with other political parties to launch a movement against Ershad.

On 30 September 1983, Zia led the first major public rally in front of the party office and was hailed by the party workers. On 28 November 1983, she took part in the "Gherao movement" (encircling) the Secretariat building at Dhaka along with the alliance leaders, which was quelled by Ershad's police force, and she was put under house arrest on the same day.

Due to the deteriorating health conditions, Justice Abdus Sattar resigned from the position of BNP chief on 13 January 1984 and was replaced by Zia, who was then the senior vice president of the party. In May 1984, she was elected as the chairperson of the party in a council by councillors.

After assuming the position of party chief, Zia spearheaded the movement against Ershad. In 1984, along with other parties, she declared 6 February as the 'Demand Day' and 14 February as 'Protest Day'. Countrywide rallies were organized on those days, and activists of the movement died on the streets fighting the ruthless police force loyal to President Ershad.

The 7-party alliance held a countrywide 'Mass Resistance Day' on 9 July 1984. In support of their demand for the immediate withdrawal of martial law, the opposition forces called for a countrywide gherao and demonstrations from 16 to 20 September and a full-day hartal on 27 September 1984.

The protests continued in 1985 as well, and as a result, in March of the same year, the Ershad-led government tightened the grip of martial law and put Zia under house arrest.

Boycotting the 1986 election

=================

To divert the political pressure, Lt. General Ershad declared a date for a fresh election in 1986. Initially, the two major opposition alliances, the '7-party alliance' led by the BNP and the '15-party alliance' led by the Awami League, discussed the possibilities of participating in the election, forming a greater election alliance to catch Ershad off guard. However, the Awami League refused to form any election alliance, and Sheikh Hasina, in a public rally on 19 March 1986, declared that anyone who would join the election under Ershad would be a 'national traitor'.

However, Sheikh Hasina's Awami League, along with the Communist Party of Bangladesh and six other parties, joined the election under Ershad, resulting in the split between the 15-party alliance. On the other hand, Zia uncompromisingly declared the election illegal and urged people to resist the election.

The government of Ershad put her under house arrest on the eve of the election, while the Awami League, the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, the Communist Party of Bangladesh, and other smaller parties took part in the election only to lose to the Jatiya Party.

Zia's uncompromising attitude and her defiance of the military dictatorship created an image of an "uncompromising leader" in the eyes of the people. Gowher Rizvi, in his analysis, wrote:

The ability to stand up against governmental oppression, to boycott elections, to refuse offices of profit, or to suffer imprisonment are considered evidence of personal sacrifices something which is greatly admired by the people of a country where politics is generally an unabashed pursuit of power and personal aggrandizement. From the moment Khaleda was installed as the leader of the BNP, she has publicly remained opposed to participation in any election held while Ershad was in power. Her popularity soared after she boycotted the polls in 1986.

Later in that year, on the eve of the 1986 Bangladeshi presidential election, Zia was put under house arrest once again.

Fall of Ershad

=================

Zia was put under house arrest multiple times from 1986 to 1990 by Ershad's military government.

On 13 October 1986, she was put under house arrest right before the 1986 Bangladeshi presidential election and was released only after the election. She took the lead on her release and initiated a fresh movement with a view to deposing Ershad. She called a half-day strike on 10 November of the same year, only to be put under house arrest again.

On 24 January 1987, when Sheikh Hasina joined the parliament session with other Awami League leaders, Zia was on the street demanding the dissolution of the parliament. She called for a mass rally in Dhaka, which turned violent, and top leaders of the BNP were arrested. After that, a series of strikes was organized by the 7-party alliance led by Zia from February to July 1987. On 22 October of the year, Zia's BNP, in collaboration with Sheikh Hasina's Awami League, declared the "Dhaka Seize" programme on 10 November to overthrow Ershad.

As a countermeasure, Ershad's government rounded up thousands of political leaders and activists, but on the day of the seizure, there was complete chaos on the streets, and dozens died. The government put Zia under house arrest after detaining her from Purbani Hotel, from where she was coordinating the movement. On 11 December 1987, she was set free, but she immediately held a press conference and claimed that she was "prepared to die" to depose the dictator.

After an eventful 1987, the two following years went relatively calmly with sporadic violence. A fresh wave of movements started when the BNP's student wing, Chatra Dal, started winning most of the student union elections across the country. By 1990, Chatra Dal took control of 270 out of 321 student unions in the country, riding on the popularity of Zia. They also won all the posts of Dhaka University Central Students' Union in 1990. The new committee of DUCSU, led by Amanullah Aman, declared fresh programmes to overthrow Ershad in line with the BNP's programmes. On 10 October 1990, in a violent turn of events, Chatra Dal leader Naziruddin Jehad died in Dhaka in clashes with pro-government forces, which paved the way for a greater alliance between all the opposition forces.

After two-month-long protests, the BNP, led by Zia, along with other political parties, compelled Ershad to offer his resignation on 4 December 1990.

Premiership

=================

Zia served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh three times. Her first term was from March 1991 to February 1996, the second term lasted for a few weeks after February 1996, and the third term was from October 2001 to October 2006. She was particularly remembered for her role in making education accessible and introducing some key economic reforms.

First term (1991–1996)

=================

A neutral caretaker government in Bangladesh oversaw elections on 27 February 1991, following eight years of Ershad's presidency. The BNP won 140 seats;– 11 short of a simple majority. Zia was sworn in as the country's first female prime minister on 20 March 1991 with the support of a majority of the deputies in parliament. The acting president, Shahabuddin Ahmed, granted Zia nearly all the powers that were vested in the president at the time, effectively returning Bangladesh to a parliamentary system. With a unanimous vote, the parliament passed the 12th amendment to the constitution in August 1991, formally ending 16 years of presidential rule.