Hundreds of thousands of people from across Bangladesh traveled to the capital Dhaka on Wednesday to pay their last respects to former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.

Zia was the country’s first female prime minister; died on tuesday From a long-term illness. She is 80 years old.

Mourners stretched out their hands in prayer and held flags bearing Zia’s photo, as a motorcade carrying Zia’s body – including a hearse wrapped in the national flag – moved through the streets near the parliament building.

Flags were flown at half-mast across the country and thousands of security personnel were deployed.

Setara Sultana, an activist with Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), told the BBC: “I came this far just to say goodbye. I knew I couldn’t see her face, but at least I could see (the vehicle) that was carrying her for the final rites.”

Sharmina Siraj, a mother of two, called Zia “an inspiration” and noted that stipends provided by former leaders to improve women’s education had a “huge impact” on her daughters.

“It’s hard to imagine that women will be in leadership positions anytime soon,” she told AFP.

The funeral was attended by Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and Bhutanese Foreign Minister Leonpo D.N. Dunyel.

Earlier in the day, Zia’s body was brought to the home of her son Tariq Rahman, who was seen reciting the Quran next to his mother’s office.

Zia will be buried next to her husband Ziaur Rahman, who was assassinated in 1981 while he was president, an incident that thrust Zia into the political spotlight.

She went on to lead the BNP in the country’s first elections in 20 years. She was known as an “uncompromising leader” after she refused to participate in a disputed election in the 1980s under military ruler General Hussain Muhammad Ershad.

Her career included prison time and house arrest, defined by bitter feuds with her arch-rivals Sheikh Hasina.

Over the past 16 years, under Hasina’s Awami League government, Zia has become the most prominent symbol of resistance to Hasina’s rule, which many see as increasingly authoritarian.

Despite Zia’s illness, the BNP said she intends to run for parliament in February, when the country goes to the polls for the first time. a popular revolution last year Hasina steps down.

Zia will contest in three constituencies, according to the party’s candidate list released earlier this month.

The party is considering returning to power, and if that happens, Zia’s son Tariq Rahman is expected to become the country’s new leader. Rahman, 60, returned to Bangladesh only last week after 17 years of self-imposed exile in London.

“The country mourns the loss of a guiding presence that shaped its democratic aspirations,” Rahman said after his mother’s death on Tuesday.