The attention surrounding Zaima Rahman does not emerge in a vacuum. She is the daughter of Tarique Rahman and granddaughter of Khaleda Zia and Ziaur Rahman, figures central to one of Bangladesh’s most influential political families. In a country where party identity and family legacy have long been intertwined, this background alone is enough to generate public curiosity and media focus, regardless of individual political experience.
What makes this moment significant is not any specific statement she has made, but the pattern it reveals. Bangladesh repeatedly treats political heirs as inherently newsworthy. The appearance of a new family member in public life often triggers speculation about future roles, symbolic hope among supporters, and heightened attention across political circles. This happens even before a sustained record of political work exists. Lineage becomes the starting point of relevance.
This reflex shapes how political significance is assigned. Individuals without such backgrounds typically enter politics through years of local organizing or party work. Their visibility grows slowly and remains precarious. For political heirs, recognition often precedes contribution. The system anticipates importance before it evaluates it.
The result is not only media fascination; it normalizes unequal entry into political life. When public imagination gravitates toward surnames, politics becomes personalized and inherited rather than institutional and process-driven. Change appears as a new face, while the structure of power remains familiar.
This is not a judgment on one person’s intentions. It is an observation about political culture. Bangladesh frequently criticizes dynastic politics, yet continues to reproduce it through attention, expectation, and emotional investment in lineage.
If a political surname alone is enough to make someone important, then politics is still moving through families rather than political work. New people may enter the scene, but the way we decide who matters does not really change.
Bangladesh Feminist Archives 