Tulip Siddiq

My baby sister just pointed out this article to me about the upcoming Bangladesh elections.

Interesting article but Jeremy Page has made the same mistake as many journalists before him. He states –

“Their aides made the surprise announcement yesterday, raising hopes of a reconciliation between the pair – both daughters of Bangladeshi independence leaders – whose bitter personal feud has defined politics here for most of two decades.”

Khaleda Zia is not the daughter of a Bangladeshi independence leader. She is the widow of Ziaur Rahman who fought in the Bangladesh Independence War.

Sheikh Hasina is the daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

It’s bad enough that these two women are constantly lumped together when discussing their policies and personalities but it is wholly unfair to alter their life facts in order to draw more similarities between them!

I remember about 3 years ago, even a competent magazine like The Economist referred to Sheikh Hasina as the widow of an independence leader when in reality her husband is still alive and kicking.

It’s a common mistake that has been repeated by journalists but now that I’ve clarified it, everyone should be aware of the facts (because of course all journalists read my blog dutifully…!)