Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairperson and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia. File Photo

DHAKA, Aug 15, 2025 (BSS) - Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairperson and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia's 81st birthday today.

As in recent years, the BNP has instructed its leaders and activists to refrain from cutting cakes or holding celebratory events. Instead, the day will be observed through peaceful religious events, including doa and milad mahfils, at BNP offices and various mosques across the country and in the capital city.

A doa mahfil will be held the BNP's Nayapaltan headquarters. Prayers will be offered for the departed souls of those who lost their lives during the 1971 Liberation War, the 1990 mass uprising and the 2024 people's movement and for the recovery of those injured.

Begum Khaleda Zia, a prominent figure in the country's political history and widely regarded as the leader of Bangladesh's nationalist forces, was born on August 15, 1945, in Dinajpur. She is the daughter of Iskander Majumdar of Fulgazi, Feni and Tayyaba Majumdar of Chandanbari. While studying at Dinajpur Surendranath College, she married then Pakistan Army Captain Ziaur Rahman.

The couple had two sons: BNP's current acting chairman Tarique Rahman, and the late Arafat Rahman. After the assassination of President Ziaur Rahman on May 31, 1981, Khaleda Zia-until then a private individual entered politics at the insistence of party leaders and grassroots supporters.

She officially joined the BNP on January 3, 1982 and was elected party Chairperson unopposed on May 10, 1984. Her leadership became especially prominent during the anti-autocracy movement of the late 1980s.

In 1991, Khaleda Zia became the first female Prime Minister following the restoration of parliamentary democracy. She served three terms as prime minister and in 1993, became the first woman to chair the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

Her final term in office followed the October 2001 elections, when the four-party alliance led by BNP returned to power. After the political upheaval during the 1/11 interim government period, she was imprisoned on September 3, 2007 under the military-backed caretaker regime. She was released a year later in September 2008.

In the 2008 general elections, BNP failed to secure enough seats to form the government. Khaleda Zia was later imprisoned again on February 8, 2018, in a controversial case widely described by BNP as politically motivated.

During her incarceration in an old and damp prison facility, Khaleda Zia's health deteriorated significantly. Despite repeated appeals from her family and recommendations from medical experts, the government denied permission to send her abroad for treatment.

She was granted conditional release on March 25, 2020 amid the COVID-19 outbreak and placed under house arrest at her rented residence in Gulshan, 'Firoza', with movement restricted between her home and hospital.

Her health continued to decline and following a series of hospitalizations, she was eventually flown to London on January 8, 2025, in a special air ambulance provided by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. She received specialized treatment at The London Clinic under the care of Professors Patrick Kennedy and Jennifer Cross.

After four months abroad, Begum Zia returned home on May 6, 2025, in the same air ambulance. Prior to her return, she had stayed at her son Tarique Rahman's residence in London since January 25.

Khaleda Zia suffers from multiple chronic health issues, including liver cirrhosis, kidney disease, diabetes, arthritis and heart complications.

Her birthday on August 15 has long been a point of political contention. 

The BNP has repeatedly accused the former Awami League government of spreading disinformation and launching legal and physical attacks against party members for observing the day, which coincides with National Mourning Day in Bangladesh-the anniversary of the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Despite years of controversy, the BNP continues to mark Khaleda Zia's birthday with quiet observances rather than public celebrations, emphasizing prayers, reflection and party unity.