Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee, a Bangladesh-based civil society organisation established to promote the values of the 1971 Liberation War and oppose communalism and religious extremism, strongly condemned the Ministry of Education’s decision to remove “Sharifa’s Story” from the seventh-grade History and Social Science textbook. In a public statement issued on 28 June 2024, the organisation described the decision as an unjustified concession to religious fundamentalist pressure and demanded its immediate withdrawal. The controversy concerned a story included in the chapter Similarities and Differences Between People, which introduced students to the experiences of Hijra people and promoted awareness of gender diversity and social inclusion. Following recommendations from a five-member review committee, the Ministry of Education had instructed the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) on 4 June to remove the story. The decision became publicly known through media reports later that month, prompting opposition from civil society representatives concerned about the exclusion of Hijra identities from educational materials.

The statement was endorsed by more than 100 individuals from different professional backgrounds, including Shahriar Kabir, writer, journalist and President of Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee; Shyamoli Nasrin Chowdhury, a Liberation War martyr’s widow; Barrister Shafique Ahmed, a senior lawyer and former Law Minister; Justice Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik, a former Supreme Court judge and Liberation War veteran; Justice Shamsul Huda and Justice Momtaz Uddin Ahmed; Professor Anupam Sen, an academic and sociologist; Ramendu Majumdar, a prominent theatre personality; Hashem Khan and Rafiqun Nabi, renowned Bangladeshi artists; Professor Dr Kazi Kamruzzaman, a physician and Liberation War veteran; Dr Fauzia Moslem, a women's rights activist; Professor Muntasir Mamoon, a historian and researcher; Abed Khan, a journalist; Abul Barq Alvi, an artist; Professor Mahfuza Khanam, an educationist; Dr Anwara Syed Haq, a physician and writer; and Zahid Reza Noor, a journalist and child of a Liberation War martyr. The signatories questioned the legitimacy and composition of the government-appointed review committee, chaired by Professor Abdur Rashid, Vice-Chancellor of Islamic Arabic University. They highlighted that the committee did not include any medical professionals, psychologists, sociologists or representatives of the Hijra community, despite being tasked with evaluating educational content concerning their identities and experiences.

The organisation argued that removing “Sharifa’s Story” undermined the pluralistic principles underlying Bangladesh’s revised national curriculum and contradicted the government's stated commitments to combating religious extremism and protecting the rights of Hijra people. It criticised the Ministry of Education for yielding to pressure from communal and fundamentalist groups, describing the decision as disrespectful to the historical struggle for a secular and inclusive Bangladesh. The statement also called for legal action against groups conducting campaigns against the curriculum through online and offline platforms. Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee demanded that the government immediately reverse the removal decision and ensure the full implementation of an inclusive national curriculum. The intervention represented a significant expression of organised civil society resistance to the exclusion of Hijra representation from school education, bringing together academics, legal professionals, cultural figures, journalists, women's rights advocates and Liberation War activists in opposition to the government's decision.