Photo: Collected
The Ministry of Education has established an expert committee to assess the inclusion of 'Sharifa's Story,' which following recent rows that explores the experiences and obstacles faced by a third gender or "Hijra" individual in a seventh-grade textbook.
The five-member committee will study the subject matter in depth for the National Curriculum and Textbook Board, according to a ministry announcement on Wednesday (24 January). Professor Abdur Rashid, Vice Chancellor of Islamic Arabic University, has been appointed as the committee's convener.
Other committee members include Islamic Foundation Governor Mufti Maulana Kofil Uddin Sarkar, NCTB Member Mashiuzzaman, Dhaka University Institute of Education and Research Director Md Abdul Halim, and Mohammad Abdur Rashid, Principal of Dhaka Alia Madrasah.
The story revolves around Sharif, who is born male but eventually identifies as a woman and takes the name Sharifa. Sharifa decides to live as a member of the "Hijra" community.
This story gained national attention when Asif Mahtab, a part-time lecturer at BRAC University, objected to its inclusion in the textbook, claiming that students were "being introduced to transgender and homosexual concepts" through this story, and tore the pages containing the story from the book. This later became popular on social media networks.
On January 19, Mahtab spoke at a session on the new education curriculum held at the Institute of Diploma Engineers in Dhaka's Kakrail neighborhood.
Following the event, Asif Mahtab posted on Facebook stating that the administrators at BRAC University fired him. As word of his departure circulated, debates over Asif's criticism erupted on social media and on campus.
On Tuesday (23 January), BRAC students protested the teacher's firing.
Meanwhile, Education Minister Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury told reporters at the Secretariat on Tuesday that if any inconsistencies or ambiguities were found in the article, they would be corrected.
Messenger/Sun Yath
