Bangladesh's first woman prime minister, Khaleda Zia, has died in Dhaka at the age of 80, bringing an end to a remarkable era of female political leadership in South Asia.
The End of a Political Dynasty
Khaleda Zia passed away on Tuesday 30 December 2025 following a prolonged illness, her doctors confirmed. She had been suffering from advanced cirrhosis of the liver, alongside arthritis, diabetes, and significant heart and chest problems.
Her death, coupled with the ousting of her long-time rival Sheikh Hasina last year, appears to close a rare and protracted chapter in which the politics of Bangladesh were dominated by two powerful women. For decades, Zia and Hasina traded power, their fierce rivalry defining the nation's democratic journey.
From Shy Housewife to 'Battling Begum'
Zia's political life began in tragedy. She was described as a shy housewife focused on raising her two sons until her husband, military ruler and later president Ziaur Rahman, was assassinated in an attempted army coup in 1981. Three years later, she took the helm of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which he had founded.
She initially joined forces with Sheikh Hasina, the daughter of Bangladesh's founding father, to lead a popular uprising that toppled military ruler Hossain Mohammad Ershad in 1990. However, this alliance was short-lived. A bitter rivalry soon developed, earning the pair the nickname the "Battling Begums".
In 1991, Bangladesh held its first free election. Zia secured a surprise victory over Hasina, becoming the nation's first woman prime minister and only the second woman to lead a democratic government in a majority-Muslim nation after Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto.
A Legacy Marred by Rivalry and Incarceration
During her first term, Zia replaced the presidential system with a parliamentary one, lifted restrictions on foreign investment, and made primary education compulsory and free. She lost to Hasina in 1996 but returned with a landslide win in 2001.
Her second term was overshadowed by the rise of Islamist militancy and corruption allegations. A grenade attack on a Hasina rally in 2004, which killed over 20 people, was widely blamed on Zia's government and its Islamist allies.
After Hasina reclaimed power, Zia faced a series of legal battles. She was sentenced to 17 years in jail in two separate corruption cases, which she and her party claimed were politically motivated. She was released in 2020 but remained under house arrest, her requests for medical treatment abroad repeatedly denied by the Hasina administration.
In a significant turn, the interim government of Muhammad Yunus, who took power after Hasina's ouster in August 2024, permitted Zia to travel to London for treatment in early 2025. The Supreme Court acquitted her in the last remaining corruption case in January 2025.
Though she had been expected to run in the February general election, her declining health prevented a political comeback. Her son, Tarique Rahman, who returned from 17 years of self-exile last week, is now set to assume leadership of the BNP.
Nation and World Mourn a Political Titan
Interim leader Muhammad Yunus expressed being "deeply saddened and grief-stricken" and declared Zia a "Very, Very Important Person of the State." From Delhi, Sheikh Hasina acknowledged Zia's significant contributions as the first woman prime minister and her role in the struggle for democracy.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences on X, stating he was "deeply saddened" by the loss. Zia is survived by her elder son and political heir, Tarique Rahman. Her younger son, Arafat, died in 2015.
With her passing, Bangladesh bids farewell to a polarising yet pivotal figure whose life story was inextricably woven with the nation's turbulent democratic evolution.
