Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury (8 May 1935 – 11 September 2022) was a Bangladeshi politician who served as the Deputy Leader of the Jatiya Sangsad from 2009 to 2022. She served as a

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 representing the

Faridpur-2 Faridpur-2 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh. Boundaries The constituency encompasses Nagarkanda and Saltha upazilas, and one union parishad of Sadarpur Upazila: Krishnapur. History Th ...

constituency from 2008 till her death in 2022. She also served as the Environment and Forest Minister of Bangladesh during 1996–2001. She was also the first and only female general secretary of the

Bangladesh Awami League The Awami League, officially known as Bangladesh Awami League, is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achievin ...

, serving from 1986 to 1992.

Early life and family

Syeda Sajeda was born on 8 May 1935 in her maternal home in Magura (formerly under

Jessore District Jessore District, List of renamed places in Bangladesh, officially Jashore District (; ), is a Districts of Bangladesh, district in southwestern Bangladesh. It is bordered by India to the west, Khulna District, Khulna and Satkhira District, Satk ...

) in the then

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. Both of her parents, Syed Shah Hamidullah and Syeda Asiya Khatun, were

Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims (; ) 'Mussalman'' also used in this work./ref> are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising over 70% of the global Bengali population, they are the second-largest ...

s of Syed extraction. Her paternal grandmother, Syeda Hamidunnesa, belonged to a

zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

'' family known as the '' Syeds of Bamna'' based in Barguna. Chowdhury had a bachelor's degree.

Political career

Chowdhury was a member of the 1st

holding a reserved women's seat during 1973–1975. Chowdhury became the

member from the

constituency in 2008, being re-elected in 2014 and 2018. She became the Deputy Leader of the House of Jatiya Sangsad on 12 February 2019 for the third consecutive term. Chowdhury became the deputy leader of the House of

Bangladesh Parliament 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 ...

in February 2009. She is only woman politician who served as General Secretary of Bangladesh Awami League from 1986 and held the position till 1992. Since then she was inducted into the Presidium. Chowdhury was awarded

Independence Day Award The Independence Award (), formally known as the Independence Day Award or Swadhinata Padak (), is the highest state award given by the government of Bangladesh. Introduced in 1977 by President Ziaur Rahman, this award is bestowed upon Banglade ...

in 2010 by the

Government of Bangladesh The government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh () is the central government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Constitution of Bangladesh comprising the executive (the president, prime minister and cabinet), the ...

Corruption allegation

On 10 July 2008, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a case against Chowdhury over concealing wealth worth Tk 1.38 million and amassing it illegally. Chowdhury denied the allegation. On 18 November 2008,

Bangladesh High Court The High Court Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh (), popularly known as High Court, is one of the two divisions of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, the other division being the Appellate Division. It consists of the Chief Justice of Bangla ...

stayed the proceedings against her in the case which was again upheld by the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

on 15 February 2010. She was granted bail by the High Court. On 29 November 2010, High Court revoked the proceedings of the case on the grounds that the charges against Chowdhury were not specifically disclosed in the case.

Personal life

Syeda Sajeda married Golam Akbar Chowdhury (d. 2015). Their youngest son, Shahdab Akbar Chowdhury, was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment by a special court in 2008 for amassing wealth illegally and concealing information in his wealth statement submitted to the ACC. Chowdhury died from complications of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

on 11 September 2022 aged 87. After her death, her son, Shahdab, selected by Awami League, ran for the vacant parliamentary position in by-poll election held on 5 November 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chowdhury, Syeda Sajeda 1935 births 2022 deaths People from Magura District Politicians from Dhaka Division Awami League politicians Women government ministers of Bangladesh 21st-century Bangladeshi women politicians Women members of the Jatiya Sangsad 5th Jatiya Sangsad members 9th Jatiya Sangsad members 10th Jatiya Sangsad members 11th Jatiya Sangsad members Ministers of environment, forest and climate change of Bangladesh Recipients of the Independence Award 20th-century Bangladeshi women politicians Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League central committee members Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh