Zaima Rahman, granddaughter of late BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, received the Independence Award on behalf of the former prime minister at the official ceremony held at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital on Thursday afternoon.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, Khaleda’s eldest son and Zaima’s father, handed over the award in recognition of Khaleda’s contributions for the country’s independence struggle, democratic movement, women’s education and overall nation-building efforts.

At the event, Tarique Rahman handed over the award to 14 other individual recipients and five organisations.

Khaleda passed away while undergoing treatment at the Evercare Hospital on 30 December 2025. She was suffering from multiple health complications including lungs infection, heart problems and kidney-related issues.

In 1991, she became the first woman prime minister in Bangladesh, and the second head of state in the Muslim world, after Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto.

Until her death, she served as the chief of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), currently the country’s biggest and ruling political party. Following her death, her son, Tarique Rahman, took the helm of the party, and afterwards, became the country’s prime minister having secured a landslide victory.