Khaleda Zia: Muslim majority US state renames street after former Bangladesh prime minister; here's why

A street in the US state of Michigan has been renamed in honour of late Begum Khaleda Zia, the three-time former prime minister of Bangladesh and chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

The Hamtramck City Council has approved a proposal to rename a section of Carpenter Street, between Joseph Campau Avenue and Conant Street, in recognition of Khaleda Zia.




Four councillors of Bangladeshi origin currently serve on the Hamtramck City Council and played a key role in securing approval for the street renaming, the BNP said through a post on social media.

Members of the expatriate community said the move goes beyond a symbolic change of name, describing it as international recognition of Bangladesh’s political struggle, as cited by BSS News.

The community also noted that this is not the first instance of a street in the United States being named after a Bangladeshi leader. Earlier, a street in Chicago was named in memory of martyred Bangladeshi President Ziaur Rahman.

Hamtramck has the highest proportion of immigrants in Michigan, the state’s largest Bangladeshi immigrant community and the second-highest concentration of Arab residents after Dearborn.

Over the past three decades, the city has become a key destination for Arab and Asian immigrants, particularly from Yemen and Bangladesh.

Census data show that more than 40 per cent of Hamtramck’s population is foreign-born, while nearly 70 per cent of residents are Muslim, including the mayor, the police chief and all members of the city council, according to the Detroit Free Press.