Sahara Khatun
Sahara Khatun | |
|---|---|
সাহারা খাতুন | |
 Khatun in 2012 | |
| Minister of Home Affairs | |
| In office 6 January 2009 – 15 September 2012 | |
| Prime Minister | Sheikh Hasina |
| Preceded by | Altaf Hossain Chowdhury |
| Succeeded by | Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir |
| Minister of Posts and Telecommunications | |
| In office 15 September 2012 – 21 November 2013 | |
| Prime Minister | Sheikh Hasina |
| Preceded by | Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju |
| Succeeded by | Rashed Khan Menon |
| Member of Parliament | |
| In office 6 January 2009 – 9 July 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Redistricted |
| Succeeded by | Mohammad Habib Hasan |
| Constituency | Dhaka-18 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 March 1943 Kurmitola, Bengal, British India |
| Died | 9 July 2020 (aged 77) Bangkok, Thailand |
| Political party | Bangladesh Awami League |
| Education | L.L.B[1] |
| Occupation | Lawyer and politician |
Sahara Khatun (1 March 1943 – 9 July 2020)[2] was a Bangladesh Awami League politician and a cabinet minister.[3] She was the incumbent Jatiyo Sangsad member representing the Dhaka-18 constituency,[4] and was the presidium member of the party.[5]
Early life
[edit]Khatun was born in Kurmitola in Dhaka on 1 March 1943 to Abdul Aziz and Turjan Nesa.[6] She completed BA and LLB degrees. She was the presidium member of Bangladesh Awami League, founding president of Bangladesh Awami Ainjibi Parishad and general secretary of Bangladesh Mahila Samity, as well as a member of the International Women Lawyers' Association and the International Women's Alliance. She started her career as a lawyer, and rose to fight cases at the Supreme Court of Bangladesh.
Political career
[edit] |
Khatun was involved in politics since her student life.[3] She entered the national political scene in 1991 when she contested the 5th Parliamentary elections as an Awami League candidate, and was defeated by Khaleda Zia of BNP, who then went on to become the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.[3]
Khatun came in the scene again upon the arrest of current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Khatun was one of the forerunners to induce a legal as well as a political battle in Hasina's favour.[citation needed] Khatun herself was charged with politically motivated crimes during the Caretaker Government's regime.[7]
With the exposure received in the run-up to the 2008 Bangladesh general election, Khatun was pitched as an Awami League candidate from the Dhaka-18 constituency.[6] She eventually won the election,[3][4] and was then appointed as the minister of home affairs of the government of Bangladesh.[3] She took office on 6 January 2009.[8] In a cabinet reshuffle of 2012, she was relieved of her duties as the Home Minister and made the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications.[9]
Tenure as minister
[edit]Khatun's tenure as minister of home affairs has been marred by the following controversies.
BDR mutiny
[edit]During the 2009 BDR Mutiny, Khatun led the delegation[10] to negotiate with the mutineers, who were either India soldiers portrayed as BD or BD AL supporters portrayed as BDR staging a mutiny against their officers of Bangladesh Rifles, the paramilitary force in charge of the borders. She went inside the campus of Bangladesh Rifles[10] to stimulate negotiation and to ask the mutineers to put their arms down.
The mutiny resulted in the death of 57 top officials of the army, and 3 family members.[11]
Extrajudicial killing
[edit]Awami League in 2008 had promised in its election manifesto that it would stop all extrajudicial killings if brought to power,[12] and Human Rights Watch observed that Awami League had failed in its promise.[citation needed]
Comment on Janmastami
[edit]Khatun attracted criticism in August 2010 when she asked the Hindu-minorities to cut their religious festival Janmastami short, so that it would not clash with the Muslim-majority observances of Ramadan, as they coincided with the same time period. She urged the Hindu community not to make loud noises during sunset, when Muslims would be having iftar.[13] Her comments were considered discriminatory, since a limitation on minority celebrations was being imposed for the first time; Hindu festivals had previously coincided with Ramadan in Bangladesh.[13]
Death
[edit]Khatun died on 9 July 2020 at the Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, due to COVID-19.[14]
References
[edit]- ^ "Constituency 191 - Dhaka 18". www.parliament.gov.bd. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- ^ "Former Bangladesh home minister Sahara Khatun MP dies at Bangkok aged 77". bdnews24.com. 10 July 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "About Honourable Minister". Ministry of Home Affairs. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
- ^ a b "List of 9th Parliament Members". Bangladesh Parliament. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
- ^ "Bangladesh Awami League – Central Committee". Bangladesh Awami League. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
- ^ a b "Profile of Ministers". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
- ^ Kumar, Anand (18 April 2007). "Bangladesh: Caretaker Government Targets Dynastic Politics". South Asia Analysis Group. Archived from the original on 13 June 2010. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "The President appointed Sheikh Hasina as the Prime Minister". Bangabhaban. Archived from the original on 4 September 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
- ^ "Minister Message". Ministry of Posts & Telecommunications. Archived from the original on 29 March 2013.
- ^ a b Manik, Julfiker Ali (26 February 2009). "Mutiny, bloodshed at BDR HQ". The Daily Star. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
- ^ Manik, Julfiker Ali (3 March 2009). "6, not 72, army officers missing". The Daily Star. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
- ^ "Election Manifesto of Bangladesh Awami League-2008". Bangladesh Awami League. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
- ^ a b "Bangladesh minister Sahara Khatun slammed for comments on Janmashtami". World Snap. 31 August 2010. Archived from the original on 23 August 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
- ^ "Former home minister Sahara Khatun passes away". The Business Standard. 10 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.