Begum Khurshida Jahan Haq (11 August 1939 – 14 June 2006) (nicknamed 'Chocolate Apa') was the Minister of Women's and Children's Affairs of

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

from 2001 to 2006, serving under her sister, Prime Minister

Khaleda Zia Khaleda Zia (; born Khaleda Khanam Putul in 1945) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh from March 1991 to March 1996, and again from June 2001 to October 2006. She was the first female prime minister of Ba ...

. During her term in office, she worked to curb human trafficking of women and children in

, as well as to provide programs and services to rehabilitate former victims of human trafficking.

Early life and education

Khurshid Jahan Haq was born on 11 August 1939 in Balaburi, in the Dinajpur District of the

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

. She belonged to a

Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the sec ...

family with origins in Fulgazi,

Feni District Feni is a district located in southeastern Bangladesh. It was a part of the Greater Noakhali, Comilla, Chittagong and Tripura. , the district's estimated population stood at 1,437,371, making it the ninth-most populous district in Chittagong Divis ...

. She was the daughter of tea-businessman Iskandar Ali Majumder, who was in turn the son of Salamat Ali Majumdar, who was the son of Azgar Ali Majumdar, who was the son of Nahar Muhammad Khan, who was the son of Murad Khan, a 16th-century Middle Eastern immigrant. Her mother,

Taiyaba Majumder Taiyaba Majumder (1921 – 18 January 2008) was a Bangladeshi housewife and recipient of the Begum Rokeya Padak. She was the mother of former Prime Minister as well opposition leader of Bangladesh and B.N.P. Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia, former ...

, was from Chandbari (now in

Uttar Dinajpur District Uttar Dinajpur () is a district of the Indian state of West Bengal. Created on 1 April 1992 by the division of the erstwhile West Dinajpur district, it comprises two subdivisions: Raiganj and Islampur. History Undivided Dinajpur district ...

). After matriculation from the local schools, she attended

Kumudini College Kumudini Government College ( bn, কুমুদিনী সরকারী কলেজ), also called Kumudini Mohila College, located in Tangail, is a women's college affiliated with Bangladesh National University. The college was established ...

where she received a BA degree in 1958. During her college years, she was active in student government and served as Secretary of the Students' Union in 1956–57.

Career

Jahan served as a vice-chairmen of

Bangladesh Nationalist Party The Bangladesh Nationalist Party ( bn, বাংলাদেশ জাতীয়তাবাদী দল, Bangladesh Jātīyotābādī Dol; BNP) is a centre-right to right-wing nationalist, political party in Bangladesh and one of the major ...

, and in 1991 was named as a Member of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

(MP) in the reserved seat for women. She was later twice re-elected as MP from the Dinajpur-3 constituency, in 1996 and 2001. She was given the position of Minister of Women's and Children's Affairs on 10 October 2001, and held the position until her death in 2006.

References

1939 births 2006 deaths Women members of the Jatiya Sangsad Bangladesh Nationalist Party politicians 20th-century Bangladeshi women politicians 21st-century women politicians 5th Jatiya Sangsad members 7th Jatiya Sangsad members 8th Jatiya Sangsad members Women and Children Affairs ministers of Bangladesh People from Dinajpur District, Bangladesh People from Fulgazi Upazila Bangladeshi people of Middle Eastern descent 21st-century Bangladeshi women politicians Majumder–Zia family {{BangladeshNationalistParty-politician-stub