Nawab Begum Shamsunnahar Khwaja Ahsanullah (21 September 1934 – 12 April 2025) was a Bangladeshi politician from the

Bangladesh Nationalist Party The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (), popularly abbreviated as BNP (), is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. It was founded on 1 September 1978 by President of Bangladesh, President Ziaur Rahman, wit ...

, who was a two-term

Jatiya Sangsad The Jatiya Sangsad (), often simply referred to as Sangsad and also known as is the unicameral Legislature, legislative body of Bangladesh. The current parliament of Bangladesh contains 350 seats, including 50 seats reserved exclusively for w ...

member from the women's reserved seats and a member of the

Dhaka Nawab family The Nawab of Dhaka ( Bengali: "ঢাকার নবাব"), originally spelt in English Nawab of Dacca, was the title of the head of one of the largest Muslim zamindar in British Bengal and Assam, based in present-day Dhaka, Bangladesh. The ...

Career

Begum Ahsanullah was one of the founding members of the

JAGODAL The Jatiyatabadi Ganatantrik Dal (''Nationalist Democratic Party'') was a political faction of the supporters of the then-president of Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman, under the coordination of then-vice president Abdus Sattar Justice. It is considered a ...

, the principal predecessor of the

(BMP). She joined it on the special request of then President

Ziaur Rahman Ziaur Rahman (19 January 193630 May 1981) was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the sixth president of Bangladesh from 1977 until Assassination of Ziaur Rahman, his assassination in 1981. One of the leading figures of t ...

and subsequently became a founding member of the BNP. Begum Ahsanullah also helped found the

Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Mohila Dal Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Mohila Dal () is the women's wing of Bangladesh Nationalist Party. It was established on 9 September 1978. The incumbent president of the organisation is Afroza Abbas and Incumbent general secretary is Sultana Ahmed. Event ...

, the women's wing of the BNP. During the anti-Ershad Movement, she led the party and stood beside

Begum Khaleda Zia Begum Khaleda Zia (born August–September 1945) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the prime minister of Bangladesh from 1991 to 1996 and again from 2001 to 2006. She was the first female prime minister of Bangladesh and the second fema ...

. She was later selected to the parliament in 1991 as a candidate of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. She was re-elected in 1996, the 6th parliamentary election of Bangladesh. The general elections were scrapped and another election was called over concerns of fairness in 1996. She was elected to the reserved seats for women in parliament by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party on 5 September 2005. She was an adviser to the Bangladesh Union Sadasya Sangstha. In 2008, she along with 86 other former Bangladesh Nationalist Party leaders expressed their support for party General Secretary

Khandaker Delwar Hossain Khondkar Delwar Hossain (1 February 1933 – 16 March 2011) was a Bangladesh Nationalist Party politician. He served as the secretary general of the party. He was elected five times as a Member of Parliament from constituency Manikganj-1 (Ghior ...

and Chairperson

Khaleda Zia Begum Khaleda Zia (born August–September 1945) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the prime minister of Bangladesh from 1991 to 1996 and again from 2001 to 2006. She was the first female prime minister of Bangladesh and the second fema ...

during the caretaker government rule in Bangladesh. Begum Ahsanullah retired from politics after the

2006–2008 Bangladesh political crisis The 2006–2008 Bangladeshi political crisis began as a caretaker government (CTG) assumed power at the end of October 2006 following the end of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party administration. The BNP government increased the chief justice's ...

. Along with being a politician, Ahsanullah served as the president of the Salimullah Orphanage since her husband's death in 1978. She resigned from her post as president in 2010.

Personal life

Begum Ahsanullah was married to Nawabzada Khwaja Ahsanullah (1915–1978). She was the daughter-in-law of the Nawab of Dhaka, Sir

Khwaja Salimullah Nawab Sir Khwaja Salimullah Bahadur (7 June 1871 – 16 January 1915) was the fourth Nawab of Dhaka and one of the leading Muslim politicians during the British rule in India. On 30 December 1906, the All-India Muslim League was officially ...

. She has two daughters: Fawzia and Ayesha; and one son; Nawabzada Khwaja Zaki Ahsanullah.

Death

Begum Ahsanullah died on 12 April 2025 in her Gulshan residence in Dhaka. She was 90. Her death was officially condoled by the BNP, with the party's secretary-general

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir (born 26 January 1948) is a Bangladeshi politician. He has been the secretary general of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) since 2016. He was a member of the Jatiya Sangsad, parliament for Thakurgaon-1 constituen ...

issuing an official condolence letter. She left behind her three children, numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Upon her death, she was the senior-most member of the

Dhaka Nawab Family The Nawab of Dhaka ( Bengali: "ঢাকার নবাব"), originally spelt in English Nawab of Dacca, was the title of the head of one of the largest Muslim zamindar in British Bengal and Assam, based in present-day Dhaka, Bangladesh. The ...

and the last living member of Nawab Salimullah's children's generation. She was buried in the Nawab family graveyard in Begum Bazaar,

Old Dhaka Old Dhaka () is a term used to refer to the historic old city of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. It was founded in 1608 as Jahangirabad or Jahangirnagar (), the capital of Bengal Subah, Mughal Province of Bengal and named after the Mughal em ...

References

1934 births 2025 deaths Bangladesh Nationalist Party politicians 5th Jatiya Sangsad members 6th Jatiya Sangsad members 8th Jatiya Sangsad members Women members of the Jatiya Sangsad Members of the Dhaka Nawab family 20th-century Bangladeshi women politicians 21st-century Bangladeshi women politicians {{BangladeshNationalistParty-politician-stub