Bangladesh introduced representation of Hijra people in a school textbook under the new curriculum implemented in 2023. In the seventh-grade History and Social Science textbook, a section on community and social diversity presented the lives, professions and social participation of people from the country’s Hijra community. The textbook included Nazrul Islam Ritu, Bangladesh’s first Hijra Union Parishad chairperson, alongside Shammi, Rani Chowdhury and Bipul Barman, presenting examples of Hijra people participating in public, professional and social life. The textbook reached students at the beginning of the 2023 academic year, with news reports documenting the inclusion from early January.

Among those featured, Nazrul Islam Ritu had received national attention after being elected chairperson of Trilochanpur Union Parishad in Kaliganj upazila of Jhenaidah. The textbook included Ritu’s photograph and information about the election, while the same section presented other members of the Hijra community in different social and professional contexts. Rather than presenting the community only through marginalisation or social exclusion, the material introduced students to examples of Hijra people taking part in employment, leadership and wider community life. Ritu welcomed the inclusion of the community in the textbook and expressed happiness that students would be able to learn about their lives and achievements.

Education officials described the inclusion as an effort to address prevailing social attitudes towards Hijra people. Faruk Ahmed, an education official in Kaliganj, said successful members of the community had been included so that students could learn about them and social perceptions could change. The textbook representation placed the experiences and achievements of Hijra people within formal school education, making their lives and participation visible to seventh-grade students through the national curriculum.