Bangladesh Bids Farewell to Khaleda Zia, Its First Female Prime Minister

Wed Dec 31 2025 21:30:44 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Hundreds of thousands gather in Dhaka to pay respects to Khaleda Zia, the first female prime minister of Bangladesh, who recently passed away at the age of 80.

Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh's first female prime minister, died at 80, leading to an immense outpouring of grief as hundreds of thousands gathered in Dhaka for her state funeral. Her political journey from a homemaker to a prominent leader is remembered alongside her contributions to women's education and her role in the nation’s democratic movements.

Hundreds of thousands of people travelled from across Bangladesh to the capital Dhaka on Wednesday to pay their final respects to former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.

Zia, who was the country's first female prime minister, died on Tuesday from a prolonged illness. She was 80.

The mourners held out their hands in prayer and carried flags printed with her photographs as a motorcade carrying Zia's body - including the hearse wrapped with the national flag - drove on streets near the parliament house.

Flags were flown at half-mast and thousands of security officers were deployed.

I have come this far just to say goodbye. I know I won't be able to see her face, but at least I could see the [vehicle] carrying her for the last rites, Setara Sultana, an activist from Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), told the BBC.

Sharmina Siraj, a mother of two, called Zia an inspiration, noting that stipends introduced by the former leader to improve women's education made a huge impact on her daughters.

India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, the Speaker of Pakistan's National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, and Bhutan's Foreign Minister Lyonpo DN Dhungyel were among those who attended the funeral.

Earlier in the day, Zia's body was taken to the house of her son Tarique Rahman, who was seen reciting the Quran beside his mother's office.

The state funeral marks the end of Zia's extraordinary journey, from a homemaker to the first female prime minister of Bangladesh.

Zia was to be buried next to her husband Ziaur Rahman, who was assassinated in 1981 while serving as president - an incident that thrust Zia into the political limelight.

She went on to lead the BNP in the country's first elections in 20 years. Dubbed an uncompromising leader, she refused to participate in a controversial election under military ruler General Hussain Muhammad Ershad in the 1980s.

For several years, along with her bitter political rival Sheikh Hasina, she fought for democracy and against military dictatorship, enduring arrests.

The fact that hundreds of thousands of people, including those who didn't vote for her party, turned up for the funeral reflects her popularity among the masses. Despite health problems in her later years, Zia had high hopes for the 2026 elections, which her party anticipated as a chance to regain power.

The country mourns the loss of a guiding presence that shaped its democratic aspirations.