Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury no more
Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, the deputy leader of the House, died last night at Dhaka Combined Military Hospital.
She was 87.
Sajeda, a presidium member of the Awami League, had been ill for quite a while.
She left behind three sons and a daughter.
Her husband Golam Akbar Chowdhury was a writer-columnist and Language Movement veteran.
Sajeda went to India in 1971 to train and take part in the Liberation War. During the war, she worked tirelessly as the director of the "Gabra Nursing Camp" of the Bangladesh government.
She was elected lawmaker six times and also served as a minister.
Born in 1935 in Magura, Sajeda went to Sakhawat Memorial School in Kolkata, West Bengal. She completed HSC from Eden Mahila School in Dhaka and graduated from Dhaka University.
She joined the AL in 1956 and served as general secretary of Chittagong All Pakistan Women's Association in 1961.
Her courageous role in 1966, the Awami League's 6-point demand and anti-Ayub movements, was noteworthy.
In 1969, she was appointed the general secretary of the Bangladesh Mahila Awami League and was elected MNA in the national parliament in 1970.
In 1976, when the AL was in a crisis of leadership, it was Sajeda who acted as the general secretary of the party and reorganised it, according to her biography published by the Parliament Secretariat.
After Bangabandhu's assassination in 1975, Sajeda ensured that the AL was able to be involved in politics.
She was the minister of forest and environment in the AL government during 1997-2001.
Sajeda also acted as the convener of the Chattogram Hill Tracts Peace Treaty implementation committee.
Her first namaz-e-janaza will be held at the South Plaza of the Sangsad Bhaban at 11:00am today.
She will be buried at the Banani graveyard.
Meanwhile, President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina condoled the death of the veteran AL leader.
Different political parties and social organisations expressed deep shock at the demise of Sajeda.
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