Sahara Khatun

Sahara Khatun (1 March 1943 – 9 July 2020)[3] was a Bangladesh Awami League politician and a cabinet minister.[4] She was the incumbent Jatiyo Sangsad member representing the Dhaka-18 constituency,[5] and was the presidium member of the party.[6]

Sahara Khatun
সাহারা খাতুন
Khatun in 2012
Minister of Posts and Telecommunications
In office
15 September 2012 – 21 November 2013[1]
Prime MinisterSheikh Hasina
Preceded byRajiuddin Ahmed Raju
Succeeded byRashed Khan Menon
Minister of Home Affairs
In office
6 January 2009 – 15 September 2012
Prime MinisterSheikh Hasina
Preceded byAltaf Hossain Chowdhury
Succeeded byMohiuddin Khan Alamgir[2]
Member of Parliament
for Dhaka-18
In office
6 January 2009 – 9 July 2020
Preceded byRedistricted
Personal details
Born(1943-03-01)1 March 1943
Dhaka, Bengal Presidency, British India
Died9 July 2020(2020-07-09) (aged 77)
Bangkok, Thailand
Political partyBangladesh Awami League
OccupationLawmaker, politician

Early life

Khatun was born in Kurmitola in Dhaka on 1 March 1943 to Abdul Aziz and Turjan Nesa.[7] 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

Khatun was involved in politics since her student life.[4] 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.[4]

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. Khatun herself was charged with politically motivated crimes during the Caretaker Government's regime.[8]

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.[7] She eventually won the election,[4][5] and was then appointed as the minister of home affairs of the government of Bangladesh.[4] She took office on 6 January 2009.[9] In a cabinet reshuffle of 2012, she was relieved of her duties as the Home Minister and made the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications.[10]

Tenure as minister

Khatun's tenure as minister of home affairs has been marred by the following controversies.

BDR mutiny

During the 2009 BDR Mutiny, Khatun led the delegation[11] to negotiate with the mutineers, who were soldiers 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[11] to stimulate negotiation and to ask the mutineers to put their arms down.

The mutiny resulted in the death of 53 top officials of the army, and 3 family members.[12]

Extrajudicial killing
See also: Rapid Action Battalion

Awami League in 2008 had promised in its election manifesto that it would stop all extrajudicial killings if brought to power,[13] and Human Rights Watch observed that Awami League had failed in its promise.

Comment on Janmastami

Khatun attracted criticism in August 2010 when she asked the Hindu-minorities to cut their religious festival Janmastami short, so that it wouldn't 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.[14] 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.[14]

Death

Khatun died on 9 July 2020 at the Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, due to corona virus.[15]

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References
  1. "28 ministers out, effectively". Dhaka Tribune. 21 November 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  2. Liton, Shakhawat; Hasan, Rashidul (16 September 2012). "MKA replaces Shahara". The Daily Star.
  3. "Former Bangladesh home minister Sahara Khatun MP dies at Bangkok aged 77". bdnews24.com. 10 July 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  4. "About Honourable Minister". Ministry of Home Affairs. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
  5. "List of 9th Parliament Members". Bangladesh Parliament. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
  6. "Bangladesh Awami League – Central Committee". Bangladesh Awami League. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
  7. "Profile of Ministers". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  8. 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.
  9. "The President appointed Sheikh Hasina as the Prime Minister". Bangabhaban. Archived from the original on 4 September 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
  10. "Minister Message". Ministry of Posts & Telecommunications. Archived from the original on 29 March 2013.
  11. Manik, Julfiker Ali (26 February 2009). "Mutiny, bloodshed at BDR HQ". The Daily Star. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
  12. Manik, Julfiker Ali (3 March 2009). "6, not 72, army officers missing". The Daily Star. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
  13. "Election Manifesto of Bangladesh Awami League-2008". Bangladesh Awami League. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
  14. "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.
  15. "Former home minister Sahara Khatun passes away". The Business Standard. 10 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
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