The Rise and Fall of Sheikh Hasina: Bangladesh's Iron Lady from Power to Exile

Sheikh Hasina was born on September 28, 1947, in Tungipara in what was then East Pakistan.

New Delhi: For nearly two decades, Sheikh Hasina's influence was deeply intertwined with Bangladesh's trajectory, experiencing both periods of stability and turbulence.

Supporters regard her as the visionary behind modern Bangladesh's development, while critics view her as an authoritarian figure whose power ambitions overshadowed public discontent.

Few could have predicted that the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), an institution she established to prosecute war collaborators, would eventually put her on trial.

The ICT's pronouncement of a death sentence in absentia against the 77-year-old former prime minister on Monday represents the most significant reversal of fortune for what had been the world's longest-serving female head of government.

Sheikh Hasina's life began in Tungipara in then East Pakistan, born into a family that would shape Bangladesh's national identity. Her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, led Bangladesh to independence with Indian assistance in 1971 and became recognized as the nation's founding father.

She pursued her education at the University of Dhaka, earning a master's degree in Bengali literature while becoming actively involved in student politics.

In 1968, she married nuclear scientist M A Wazed Miah, whose academic and reserved lifestyle contrasted sharply with Bangladesh's tumultuous political landscape.

Wazed remained a consistent presence in Sheikh Hasina's life until his death in 2009 at age 67. Their family includes a son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, and a daughter, Saima Wazed Putul.

Sheikh Hasina's political path took a decisive turn following the August 1975 military coup, during which her father, mother, three brothers, and other family members were assassinated. She and her younger sister Rehana survived only because they were out of the country.

India, under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's leadership, provided her asylum. After six years, she returned to Bangladesh in May 1981, having been elected in absentia as the Awami League's general secretary.

Upon her return to lead the Awami League, Sheikh Hasina encountered her established rival: Khaleda Zia, widow of president Ziaur Rahman.

The 'Battling Begums,' as they became known, engaged in electoral and ideological conflicts that characterized Bangladesh's political landscape for over three decades.

Sheikh Hasina first assumed the role of prime minister in 1996, defeating Zia in a highly contested election. Though she lost power in 2001, she returned with overwhelming support in 2008, beginning what critics describe as a prolonged period of political dominance.

Under her leadership, the Awami League won decisive victories in the 2008 general election; the 2014 election (boycotted by Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party); and the 2018 election, establishing Sheikh Hasina as one of the world's longest-serving female leaders.

During her premiership, Bangladesh experienced substantial economic growth, major infrastructure developments including the Padma Bridge, and significant progress in poverty reduction.

The country also emerged as a global garment manufacturing powerhouse under her governance.

However, these achievements were accompanied by allegations of suppressing dissent, restricting media freedom, arresting opposition figures, and expanding state security powers.

In 2024, student-led demonstrations initially protesting job quota systems for independence war veterans' children escalated into nationwide opposition against Sheikh Hasina's government.

The subsequent crackdown triggered widespread violence, ultimately resulting in Sheikh Hasina's removal from power and her flight to India.

Following her ousting, the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus reorganized the ICT, once her instrument for prosecuting war criminals, to bring charges against her for crimes against humanity related to the 2024 crackdown.

A UN rights office report estimated up to 1,400 people were killed during last year's student protests between July 15 and August 15, known as the July Uprising, as her government ordered a comprehensive security crackdown.

On Monday, after months of proceedings she never attended, the tribunal delivered its unprecedented verdict: Sheikh Hasina, four-term prime minister and political heir of Bangladesh's founding leader, was sentenced to death.

Now exiled in India, Sheikh Hasina, often called the 'Iron Lady' of Bangladesh, observes from across the border as the nation she helped build, and frequently governed with firm control, confronts the complex legacy her rise and fall has created.