Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury (8 May 1935 – 11 September 2022) was a Bangladeshi politician. She served as a

Jatiya Sangsad The Jatiya Sangsad ( bn, জাতীয় সংসদ, lit=National Parliament, translit=Jatiyô Sôngsôd), often referred to simply as the ''Sangsad'' or JS and also known as the House of the Nation, is the supreme legislative body of ...

member representing the

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

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

Early life and family

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

Jessore District Jessore District (Bengali: যশোর, pronounced Jaw-shore, Anglicised: Jessore), officially spelled Jashore District from April 2018, is a district in the southwestern region of Bangladesh. It is bordered by India to the west, Khulna Distr ...

) in the then

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 ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

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

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 ...

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

zamindar A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...

'' family known as the '' Syeds of

Bamna Bamna is a locality village situated about 8 km south - west from its Taluka headquarters Bhiloda and lies on the bank of Hatmati Dam. It falls under the newly formed Aravali district Jurisdiction of Gujarat. It is well known as the vill ...

'' based in Barguna. Chowdhury had a bachelor's degree.

Political career

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 ( bn, জাতীয় সংসদ, lit=National Parliament, translit=Jatiyô Sôngsôd), often referred to simply as the ''Sangsad'' or JS and also known as the House of the Nation, is the supreme legislative body of ...

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 Day Award ( bn, স্বাধীনতা পদক), also termed Independence Award ( bn, স্বাধীনতা পুরস্কার), Swadhinata Padak, and Swadhinata Puroskar, is the highest state award given by t ...

in 2010 by the

Government of Bangladesh The Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ সরকার — ) is the central executive government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Con ...

Corruption allegation

On 10 July 2008, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a case against Chowdhury in connection with 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 ( bn, হাইকোর্ট ডিভিশন) popularly known as the 'High Court' is one of the two divisions of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, the other division being the Appellate D ...

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

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. 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 Shahdab Akbar Chowdhury is a Bangladeshi politician and a Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Faridpur-2 constituency at the 2022 by-polls. The seat became vacant when then incumbent, Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, also his mother, died in office on ...

, was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment by a special court in 2008. He was convicted 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 a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

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 Faridpur District 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 Environment, Forest and Climate Change ministers of Bangladesh Recipients of the Independence Day Award 20th-century Bangladeshi women politicians Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League central committee members Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh