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.