BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia. When BNP founder and President Ziaur Rahman was assassinated in May 1981, Khaleda Zia was a housewife. Far from thinking about politics, she was rarely seen at any political event. Over time, she went through many ups and downs from a housewife to becoming a three-time Prime Minister. She had to face various conspiracies at home and abroad to walk the path of this long-time friend. Khaleda Zia had to take charge of the party she had built in the pain of losing her husband. There too, she had to face many obstacles. From there, her life of political struggle began. She led the anti-dictatorship movement on the streets for eight consecutive years. When she started walking on the path of this movement, no one was by her side at the beginning, but eventually she united the entire nation. She was given the title of uncompromising leader because she never compromised. Due to her strong morale, patriotism, and commitment to democracy, the people of the country never left her. After the fall of the dictatorial Ershad government in the 1990s, she participated in the elections with a fragile party and her party came to power unimaginably. Khaleda Zia won all the elections she participated in in her political life with a huge majority. There is no other example like this in the country. She has also written her name in the pages of history as the first female Prime Minister of the Muslim world.

Birth and Marriage
Khaleda Zia was born on 15 August 1945. She was the third of three sisters and two brothers. Her childhood nickname was Putul. Her father, Iskander Majumder, was born in Sreepur village of present-day Parshuram upazila of Feni. He was a businessman. He went to Dinajpur to improve his business. When Pakistan became an independent country in 1947, he started living permanently in Dinajpur. On 19 March 1937, he married Tayyaba. Tayyaba was a resident of Chandanbari in present-day Boda upazila of Panchagarh district. This family is known as the 'T-Family'. Her mother Tayyaba Majumder was a social worker.

Young Captain Ziaur Rahman married Khaleda Khanam while serving in Dinajpur as an army officer. The wedding was held on Friday, August 5, 1960, at Khaleda's father's house in Mudipara, Dinajpur. Khaleda Zia's father-in-law could not attend the wedding ceremony because he was in Karachi. Zia's mother had died a year before the wedding, so she was also deprived of her mother-in-law's affection. Khaleda's mother was a distant relative of Zia's mother.

Khaleda Zia has dedicated herself to serving the nation since becoming a widow at the age of 36. She carved out a unique political position at a time when the male-dominated society had a monopoly. She took on political and then government responsibilities in a timely manner, which was a historic challenge at a critical juncture. Khaleda Zia took over the party's responsibilities at a time when the country was being crushed under the grinding mill of Ershad's imposed military rule.

Zia's successors, Sandhan and Khaleda Zia,
overthrew the elected BNP government led by President Justice Abdus Sattar on March 24, 1982, and HM Ershad imposed martial law. He declared himself the Chief Martial Law Administrator (CMLA), effectively usurping state power. Ershad's aggressive stance immediately weakened the BNP. After Zia's death, the party he founded seemed to be lost in a turbulent sea. Along with increasing internal conflicts, a crisis of confidence in the party leadership became evident, and uncertainty about the future of the party arose against the backdrop of the new reality, especially since it became extremely difficult to take the party forward without a worthy political successor to Zia. By 1981, the BNP had emerged as the largest and most powerful political party in the country in terms of membership and supporters. Due to the diverse ideologies among its members, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party needed a leader who could be a worthy political successor to Zia and would be able to lead independently. Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party was looking for a reliable leader to reinvigorate it after the aging and ailing Satta failed to overcome the burden and take the party forward on the desired path.

As the wife of a valiant freedom fighter and a senior army officer in the war of independence, Khaleda Zia was accustomed to living a modest life like any ordinary Bangladeshi housewife. She spent most of her time raising her two sons, Tarique Rahman and Arafat Rahman. Even when her husband became the President of Bangladesh in 1977, Khaleda Zia did not involve herself in politics or state affairs, although as the First Lady, she had to maintain formalities as per protocol. Although Zia and Begum Zia have two sons, they have no daughters. Her other sister also has no daughters. Begum Zia's elder son Tarique Rahman was born on November 20, 1965, and her younger son Arafat Rahman Koko was born on August 12, 1970. Both sons have daughters. Tarique Rahman has a daughter. His daughter has now obtained a law degree in the UK. Koko has two daughters who live in London. They are also studying there.

Joining the BNP and making her debut
Although Khaleda Zia was little known to Zia's followers and workers, she was well known to all the party leaders and they realized that she could be the most reliable leader to keep the party united. This assessment has proven correct over the years and under her leadership the party has survived all the internal and external obstacles and setbacks. After much deliberation, Khaleda Zia was finally chosen. After the assassination of Ziaur Rahman, the advocate of multi-party democracy, in a failed military coup on May 30, 1981, she joined the BNP on January 3, 1982 as the savior of the party and made her debut.

After assuming the party leadership, Khaleda Zia had to work hard and very hard to keep the party united and continue the uncompromising struggle for freedom from the clutches of Ershad's authoritarian government. In her 35 years of party leadership and government, she was not only committed to protecting democracy, but also spoke out against the hegemonic groups who threatened the independence, sovereignty and dignity of the country, even at great risk. Considering Khaleda Zia's dedication to the party ideology, it can be said that 'Khaleda Zia' and 'Bangladesh Nationalist Party' become mutually synonymous.

Despite opposition
from a section of the party, Khaleda Zia became the senior vice chairman of the BNP in March 1983. She delivered her first speech at the extended meeting of the party on April 1 of that year. When Justice Sattar fell ill, Khaleda Zia took over as the acting chairperson of the BNP. On May 10, 1984, she was elected chairperson of the party. Taking control of the party amidst the disastrous organizational situation of the BNP, she formed the 7-party unity alliance in 1983. She started a mass movement against Ershad's military rule. Khaleda Zia originally initiated the anti-Ershad movement through the 7-party unity alliance in September 1983. At that time, she jointly started the movement program with 15 parties led by the Awami League. The five-point movement continued until 1986. But on the night of March 21, 1986, the united movement was interrupted when the Awami League suddenly announced that it would participate in the elections under Ershad.

The 15 parties led by the Awami League split into 8 parties and 5 groups due to a dispute over the election of the title of 'uncompromising' leader
. Under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina, 8 parties and Jamaat went to the 1986 elections. After that, 7 parties led by Khaleda Zia, and a five-party coalition of left parties were on the streets. Since 1987, Khaleda Zia started a one-phase movement of 'Ershad Hatao'. Ershad was forced to dissolve the parliament. When the Awami League walked out of the parliament, the united movement started again. After 8 years of continuous uncompromising struggle on the streets, Ershad was forced to leave power on December 6, 1990. After coming from a housewife to politics, she earned the title of 'uncompromising' leader from the countrymen.

The first female prime minister of Bangladesh,
Khaleda Zia became the first female prime minister of Bangladesh when the BNP won a landslide majority in the parliamentary elections of 27 February 1991. She called for a movement to end authoritarian rule, mobilised the people against misrule and led the way to restore democratic electoral processes. It was unthinkable even to her opponents that she would become the most popular and representative leader in such a short period of time. Therefore, they were shocked by the results of the 1991 general elections.

Never lost
Not only did he lead the movement, but he also secured unprecedented public support - winning five seats. Since then, despite the atrocities of his opponents, he has not lost any election. If elections are the standard of popularity, then he has surpassed all records. Never lost. No other political leader of his stature in Bangladesh or the subcontinent has been able to show such a feat.

Khaleda Zia was determined to achieve her desired goal by organizing an anti-dictatorship movement. For her, it was a kind of spiritual realization of democracy and human rights. In this context, she had two problems before her - to continue the struggle in a coordinated manner to oust Ershad and to keep the party united. During this time, the party unity faced several severe blows, but she faced those adversities with a strong hand. She led the movement on the streets, won the elections and formed the government.

Fighting Two Adversities
From 1983 to 1990, he fought two types of adversities - one was the internal problems of the party, such as internal conflicts, and the other was the autocratic Ershad. During his years of leadership, he established a single and effective control over the party. He laid great emphasis on three issues - taking the unity and politics of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party to the grassroots by protecting national independence and sovereignty; upholding the honor and dignity of the late President Zia; and a correct view of the Awami League.

In the 1990 elections, he came to power and introduced a parliamentary system of government from a presidential system of government. In the face of the movement demanding elections under the caretaker government of the Awami League and Jamaat, he held the sixth national election on February 15, 1996, brought amendments to the constitution, introduced a caretaker government system, and resigned. In the seventh national election of that year, he became the leader of the opposition in the national parliament by winning 116 seats. And the Awami League won 147 seats and formed the government with the support of the Jatiya Party and JSD.

The 'One-Eleven' Change of Face and Loss of Power On
October 1, 2001, the BNP won the eighth parliamentary election by a huge margin and formed the government. However, after the expiration of the term of the eighth parliament, when the political situation heated up due to the dispute over the caretaker government, the 'One-Eleven' political change of face took place; he was ousted from power. At that time, attempts were made to send him abroad. But he did not leave the country even in the face of oppression and torture. He was arrested on September 3, 2007. After spending a year in prison, he was released on September 11, 2008. Earlier, he was arrested on November 28, 1983, May 3, 1984, and November 11, 1987 during the anti-Ershad movement. The year after the controversial election on January 5, 2014, he was surrounded by law enforcement forces at the party office in Gulshan for 93 days continuously while he was protesting for the people's right to vote. The following year, he had to be surrounded in the same way.

Forced to live a solitary and uncommunicative life
In her 35 years of active political life, Khaleda Zia has always been vocal and a fighter for the democratic rights of the people. She has suffered for her promises. She has been imprisoned, her meetings and motorcades have been subjected to fierce attacks by opponents. She has been forced to live a solitary and uncommunicative life. She is the only politician not only in Bangladesh, but perhaps in the world as well, who has contested 23 parliamentary seats from 1991 to 2008 and has not lost a single one.

In the 2018 election, Khaleda Zia wanted to contest from three seats. These seats are Feni-1. Bogra-6 and Bogra-7. But she became ineligible for the election due to being convicted in a corruption case. A review of Khaleda Zia's past elections shows that she has contested more from Bogra, Feni, Laxmipur and Chittagong seats. In addition, she contested from one seat in Dhaka in 1991 and one seat in Khulna in 2001. A review of the election results shows that not only did she win, but also the margin of votes between Khaleda Zia and her rival candidates was large.

Addressed as 'Deshneti'
She is the country's unique popular leader. She has been to almost every part of the country. She was capable of undertaking long and arduous journeys. In December 2008, she travelled nearly 14,000 kilometres across the country in the 14 days before the national elections. When she participated in an election campaign, she would be energized by her indomitable vitality. She would not keep any schedule for breakfast, lunch or dinner. She would address election meetings at 3 am. She was determined to implement her decisions and once she made a decision, she would strictly adhere to it. Forbes magazine ranked Khaleda Zia 14th in 2004, 29th in 2005 and 33rd in 2006 in its list of the 100 most powerful women in the world. On May 24, 2011, she was honored as a Fighter for Democracy in the New Jersey Senate of the United States. Her party workers and supporters affectionately address her as 'Deshneti'.