Dhaka, Dec. 31 -- We have lost one of the towering figures of Bangladesh's political history -- Begum Khaleda Zia. The first female prime minister of the country, she slipped into eternal silence on Tuesday in Dhaka at the age of 79 after battling a prolonged illness. With her demise, an era characterised by uncompromising stands and personal sacrifice draws to a close.

Khaleda Zia's journey into politics was not carefully planned. The assassination of her husband President Ziaur Rahman in 1981 led her to politics. Once a housewife, she joined BNP, the party Ziaur Rahman founded, in 1982 and eventually took its helm. She gradually transformed BNP into a mass-based political force and herself into a stateswoman and one of the most powerfu...