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Published : 23 Dec 2025, 04:52 PM
Zaima Rahman, daughter of BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, has shared an emotional Facebook post revisiting her childhood and setting out hopes for the future, alongside a photograph with her grandmother.
She left Bangladesh 17 years ago with her parents in September, 2008 and is scheduled to return on Friday, Dec 25.
"One of my most cherished memories of my Dadu captures her fiercely loving and loyal matriarchal role in our family. When I was around eleven, our high school team won a football tournament. My mother took me straight to Dadu’s office so that I could show her my medal and tell her about it myself," she wrote about her grandmother, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia
"I always understood that my Dadu carried the weight of a nation on her shoulders. To millions she was the Prime Minister, but to me and my cousins, she was ‘Dadu’ first. She always cared, always made time for her loved ones, always uplifted us, especially in the moments that mattered to us. Those moments became my first lessons in leadership: of humility, sincerity, and the willingness to listen."
A barrister by training, Zaima says 17 years abroad have been “transformative”, but she has remained anchored to her roots.
"Why? Because we are shaped by what we anchor ourselves to - to our culture, community, and identity. Like many second and third generation Bangladeshis abroad, I have lived in more than one world. London grounded me and gave me a global perspective, but Bangladesh always remained my focus," she explained.
"Academia taught me discipline, but what shaped me most were the people, stories, and the responsibilities that came with them when practising law. Every case, every client, every conversation is profoundly personal to someone. Sometimes, showing someone that they are seen and understood is enough, especially when they have felt unheard by the halls of justice for far too long.
"Standing beside someone on one of the hardest days of their life teaches you more about integrity and empathy than any classroom ever could. Each stage of my London journey has shaped how I think and who I strive to be."
She wrote that she never met her grandfather, late president Ziaur Rahman -- who was assassinated in 1981. But she always knew about integrity and patriotism with which he lived and worked.
"My Dadu and Abbu have carried that legacy forward. During the mass uprising and in the evolving period after 5th August, I remained in the background, helping where I could, listening more than speaking, and doing my best to ease their burden in everyday acts and small instances of support."
Zaima shared her emotions about returning home in her own words.
"I long to be beside my Dadu, In Sha Allah, and to support my Abbu throughout this campaign period. I hope to give back to my country in whatever ways I can. I want to see Bangladesh be rebuilt and thrive, as it should," she wrote.
"I want to rediscover my homeland through my own eyes and lived experiences, to connect with people face to face, because that is the sincerest way to understand another’s perspective, just as I have been taught."
