"Zia entered politics after her husband, former president Ziaur Rahman, was assassinated in May 1981 during a military coup. Rahman had fought for Bangladesh's independence war from Pakistan in 1971, and formed the BNP party a few years prior his assassination. Zia, who was a housewife at the time with no experience in politics, soon became one of the country's top leaders for her civilian political resistance against the then military regime."
"Zia established a solid political alliance by including political parties from both the left and the right with her center-right party. She successfully forced the military regime to give up power by leading nationwide movements for democracy. On February 27,1991, Zia's party won 140 of the 300 directly-elected seats during the national election and became the country's first female prime minister."
Khaleda Zia died at age 80 after serving three terms as Bangladesh's prime minister between 1991–1996 and 2001–2006. She led the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and helped transition the country from military rule to democracy. Zia entered politics after the 1981 assassination of her husband, President Ziaur Rahman, and built a broad alliance across left and right parties to force the military regime from power. Her party won the 1991 election, making her the country's first female prime minister. She expanded girls' education with scholarships and free school meals and supported the export-oriented garment industry. She faced prison sentences over corruption charges her party called politically motivated.
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