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Published : 16 Oct 2024, 02:53 PM
Matia Chowdhury, a member of the Awami League presidium and former deputy leader of parliament, has died in hospital care at the age of 82.
The veteran politician passed away during treatment at Dhaka's Evercare Hospital on Wednesday afternoon, according to Md Shahjalal, her former aide.
Matia had been battling health issues for a while. After undergoing treatment at Evercare Hospital, she spent the past week at home.
But on Wednesday, she was rushed to the hospital as her condition deteriorated, said Shahjalal, who served as Matia's private secretary when she was the deputy leader of parliament.
A revered political figure, Matia served six terms as an MP for Sherpur-2 and as the minister of agriculture during the Awami League administrations in 1996, 2009, and 2013. In 2023, she was also appointed deputy leader of the parliament.
Born on Jun 30, 1942, in Pirojpur, to a police officer father, Mohiuddin Ahmed Chowdhury, Matia married journalist Bazlur Rahman in 1964.
Matia was the first female chief of any student organisation in Bangladesh. During her college days at Eden College, she was actively involved in left-wing student politics, serving as vice president and later president of the Student Union.
In 1966, she was a prominent participant in the Six-Point Movement. She was known as the Agnikanya, or the firebrand, for her fiery speeches when she was president of the Bangladesh Students’ Union and general secretary of Dhaka University Central Students’ Union or DUCSU.
In 1967, Matia joined the East Pakistan National Awami Party. During the Liberation War in 1971, she played a role as an organiser in forming a joint guerrilla force comprising members of the National Awami Party, the Communist Party, and the Student Union.
In 1979, she left the National Awami Party and joined the Awami League. By 1986, she had become the party's secretary for agricultural affairs and was eventually included in its policy-making council.
Throughout her long political career, Matia was imprisoned multiple times. She wrote a book titled "Deyal Diye Ghera" based on her experiences in prison.
Known among her political colleagues for her simple attire and modest lifestyle, Matia was a lifelong proponent of these values.
Most recently, she served as a member of the Awami League Presidium. In 2021, the Bangla Academy awarded her an honorary fellowship for her role in Bangladesh's Liberation War.
