Bangladesh honored former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia with a state funeral on Wednesday, as throngs gathered in Dhaka to salute the trailblazing leader who died Tuesday at 80. The nation’s first female PM left an enduring mark on its 170 million people across decades in politics.
Flags flew at half-mast, streets brimmed with security, and her flag-draped casket processed through the capital in a vehicle sporting national colors.
Minhaz Uddin, a 70-year-old retired civil servant, joined the crowds despite never voting for her. “I brought my grandson to say goodbye to a veteran politician whose legacy endures,” he said from behind a barbed-wire barrier.
Sharmina Siraj, a 40-year-old mother of two, called Zia “a source of inspiration” amid doubts about future women leaders. She credited Zia’s stipends for girls’ education: “They transformed our daughters’ lives.”
Despite health woes and imprisonment, Zia vowed to contest the February 12 elections—the first since last year’s uprising toppled rival Sheikh Hasina. Her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leads polls, with son Tarique Rahman, back from 17 years in exile, eyed as a potential PM if victorious.
“Her legacy lives on with the BNP,” said Jenny Parvez, 37, who traveled hours with family for the procession.
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus’s interim government declared three days of mourning and a lavish funeral. Crowds waved BNP and national flags outside parliament ahead of 2:00 PM (0800 GMT) prayers. Yunus called her “a great guardian” Bangladesh lost.
Zia will rest beside her assassinated husband, Ziaur Rahman, president killed in 1981.
Pakistan’s National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq will attend representing Islamabad, announced Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. Tarique Rahman hailed her as a “guiding force” who endured arrests, medical neglect, and persecution with unbreakable resolve.
Hospitalized since late November for multiple ailments, Zia’s condition declined despite treatment. Hours before death, activists filed her nomination papers for three constituencies.
Indian PM Narendra Modi offered condolences, hoping her “vision and legacy” strengthens ties despite post-Hasina strains. Foreign Secretary Subraham Jaishankar is expected—the highest Indian visit since Hasina’s fall—alongside Pakistani dignitaries.
