Matia Chowdhury passes away

Matia Chowdhury, a presidium member of the Awami League and former minister, has passed away.

She was 82.

The politician breathed her last around 12:30 pm on Wednesday (October 12) while undergoing treatment at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka.

Arif Mahmud, general manager of the hospital, confirmed her death.

Born on June 30, 1942 in Nazirpur upazila of Pirojpur, Matia Chowdhury graduated from the University of Dhaka.

Her father Mohiuddin Ahmed Chowdhury was a police officer and mother Nurjahan Begum was a housewife. On June 18, 1964, Matia Chowdhury married the famous journalist Bazlur Rahman.

In 1965, she was elected president of the Bangladesh Students’ Union. In 1967, Matia, popularly known as “Agnikanya”, joined the East Pakistan National Awami Party and became a member of its executive committee. Later, she joined Awami League and became its organising secretary in 1971.

Matia also served as deputy leader of parliament and was elected as an MP from Sherpur-2 from 2009 to 2024.

She was minister of agriculture from 1996 to 2001 and then again from 2009 to 2019 during different tenures of the Awami League government.