DHAKA, Dec 31 — Bangladesh bids farewell on Wednesday to former prime minister Khaleda Zia with a state funeral expected to draw vast crowds, mourning a towering leader whose career defined politics for decades.

Zia, the first woman to serve as prime minister in the South Asian nation of 170 million people, died on Tuesday aged 80.

“Khaleda Zia has been an inspiration,” homemaker Sharmina Siraj told AFP, adding that “it is difficult to imagine women in leadership positions anytime soon”.

The 40-year-old mother of two said stipends introduced by Zia to support girls’ education “had a huge impact on the lives of our girls. To me, this is her biggest contribution”.

Despite years of ill health and imprisonment, Zia had vowed to campaign in elections set for February 12 -- the first vote since a mass uprising toppled her arch-rival Sheikh Hasina last year.

Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is widely seen as a frontrunner, and her son Tarique Rahman, 60, who returned only last week after 17 years in exile, is seen as a potential prime minister if they win a majority.

The interim government, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, declared three days of national mourning, with an elaborate state funeral beginning with prayers outside parliament around 2:00 pm (0800 GMT).

Flags will be flown at half-mast, and a large deployment of security forces is expected across the capital, Dhaka.

Yunus said Bangladesh had “lost a great guardian”.

“Through her uncompromising leadership, the nation was repeatedly freed from undemocratic conditions and inspired to regain liberty,” he said in a statement.

Zia’s body will be interred alongside her late husband, Ziaur Rahman, who was assassinated in 1981 during his time as president.