Twice prime minister of Bangladesh credited with improving the country’s economy and empowering women

Khaleda Zia, who has died aged 80 – although her age was disputed – was the first female prime minister of Bangladesh, and was credited with an increase in female education and empowerment during her two terms in office, in the 1990s and early 2000s. The defining feature of her public life, however, was one of the world’s longest-running and most bitter political feuds.

For more than three decades Zia and her rival, Sheikh Hasina – now exiled in India following her resignation after a violent uprising in mid-2024 – contested the leadership of the south Asian nation, and sought to eclipse the other when in office.