Bangladesh Mahila Parishad President and valiant freedom fighter Ayesha Khanam passed away at the age of 74 on Saturday, reports BSS.
President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have expressed profound shock and sorrow at the death of Ayesha Khanam.
In a message of condolence, the President said, “Ayesha Khanam was a brave fighter in the country’s women rights movement.”
Recalling her contribution to women empowerment with due respect, Abdul Hamid said Ayesha Khanam’s contribution to establishing women’s rights will be remembered for long.
The head of the state prayed for the eternal peace of the departed soul and conveyed deep sympathy to the bereaved family.
In a message of condolence, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the country’s women community has lost a genuine and brave compatriot at the death of the women leader.
She prayed for the eternal peace of the departed soul and conveyed deep sympathy to the bereaved family.
Maleka Banu, general secretary of the organisation, said in a statement that prominent woman leader Ayesha Khanam breathed her last Saturday morning while undergoing treatment at a city hospital.
She said Ayesha Khanam had been suffering from lung cancer for long.
Her physical condition deteriorated on Friday night, Maleka Banu added.
She also said Ayesha Khanam would be buried next to the grave of her late husband Engineer Mortuza Hasan in the family graveyard in her village in Netrokona.
Ayesha Khanam was born on 18 October of 1947 in Gabragati village of Netrokona.
She was a student of Dhaka University in 1971.
She became Vice President of the Central Committee of Bangladesh Students Union and had been playing her role as the President of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad for a long time
Ayesha Khanam was an active organizer of all progressive movements including the student movement of 1962, the mass uprising of 1969 and the great Liberation War.
At the end of her student life, she dedicated herself to the movement of realizing the rights of deprived women.
The women’s movement in Bangladesh lost a genuine guardian at her death, the Parishad said in its statement.
Tributes and condolences continue to pour in for the prominent women leader and Bangladesh Mahila Parishad (BMP) President, who passed away today at a city hospital at the age of 74.
Immediately after her demise, people from all walks of life as well as different political parties and leaders expressed their shock and sent condolences.
A number of cabinet members also expressed deep shock and sorrow at the demise of the BMP President.
Foreign Affairs Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, Environment Forest and Climate Change Minister Md Shahab Uddin, Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun, Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque, LGRD State Minister Swapan Bhattacharya, State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury , Woman and Children Affairs State Minister Fazilatunnesa Indira, Civil Aviation and Tourism State Minister Md Mahbub Ali, State Minister for Labour and Employment Begum Monnujan Sufian, State Minister for Water Resources Zahid Faruk and Deputy Minister AKM Enamul Hoque Shameem also expressed deep shock and sorrow in separate condolence messages, at the death of Ayesha Khanam.
