Bangladesh’s Ministry of Education decided to remove “Sharifa’s Story” from the seventh-grade History and Social Science textbook, following months of religious and conservative opposition to the inclusion of Hijra and transgender-related content in the national curriculum. The decision, reported on 25 June 2024, followed recommendations from a five-member review committee appointed by the ministry in January. The ministry formally instructed the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) to replace the story in textbooks prepared for the following academic year. “Sharifa’s Story,” included in the chapter Similarities and Differences Between People, portrayed the experiences of a Hijra person, including their gender identity, family relationships and experiences of social exclusion. Its inclusion had been intended to introduce students to the lives of Hijra people and encourage understanding of human diversity.

The government’s decision followed a sustained campaign against the story that intensified in January 2024, when BRAC University part-time lecturer Asif Mahtab Utsha publicly tore pages containing the story during a seminar on 19 January. The incident triggered widespread controversy, followed by demonstrations organised by Islamist groups, demands for the removal of transgender-related educational content and a legal notice seeking the story’s withdrawal. On 24 January, the Ministry of Education established a five-member committee to review the material. Three committee members were associated with religious or Islamic educational institutions, while no representatives of Hijra or transgender communities were included. The committee submitted its findings in May, recommending that the story be removed. The ministry subsequently accepted the recommendation and instructed the NCTB to implement the change. The decision brought the campaign against the story to the point of formal government action, with the original account of a Hijra person's experiences scheduled for removal from future textbooks.

According to NCTB officials, the story would be replaced in the next academic year's textbook rather than withdrawn from books already distributed to students. Professor Md Moshiuzzaman, acting Chairman of the NCTB, confirmed that the ministry had instructed the board to replace the existing story with another narrative addressing the same learning objective. Reports indicated that the replacement would continue to address the Hijra community but would present the subject differently. Nevertheless, the government's decision meant that the specific story introducing students to Sharifa's identity and experiences would no longer appear in its original form. The removal followed months of pressure from religious and conservative groups and was approved without representation from the Hijra and transgender communities on the committee responsible for reviewing their portrayal.