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often alone. Visitors were restricted to a small circle of close friends and political colleagues. She could neither move freely nor leave the house. In 2013, trucks and lorries blocked her residence, preventing her from going out, an act her supporters described as profound disrespect toward the nation’s first woman prime minister. In 2015, from her party office, she bid farewell to her son, Arafat Rahman Koko, who died during his exile in Malaysia, returning once again to solitude at Firoza.

On February 8, 2018, a healthy Khaleda Zia walked into the old jail on Nazimuddin Road. After more than two years, she emerged gravely ill. Her condition deteriorated during incarceration, prompting her transfer to Bangladesh Medical University, formerly known as PG Hospital. From then on, illness became her constant companion.

During the Awami League regime, court appearances became routine. At times, with special permission, she attended hearings from Firoza or the hospital. These repeated summons added further strain to her declining health.

Evercare Hospital, formerly Apollo Hospital, became another defining address in her later years. Frequent stays turned the hospital into a second home.

Another landmark in her journey was parliament. As first lady, prime minister, and leader of the opposition, the Jatiya Sangsad served as a central stage of her political career.

Her namaz-e-janaza was held at the parliament complex -- the same place where her late husband’s funeral prayer had once been offered.

Just days before her final hospitalisation on November 23, Khaleda visited Ziaur Rahman’s mausoleum to offer prayers. Yesterday, she was laid to rest beside him. His mausoleum has now become her final home.

The Cantonment house, Firoza, prison, Evercare, and parliament were not merely addresses. They shaped the “uncompromising leader” she became.

When she said, “Bangladesh is my only address. Where will I go, leaving my country?” she meant it. This soil, this nation, and its people were her life. In the end, the land of Bangladesh became her eternal address.