The Ministry of Education formed a high-level expert committee on Wednesday to investigate whether or not to include "Sharifa's Story," a textbook for class VII that describes the challenges and life experiences of a third-gender, or "Hijra," person.
In this regard, a heated demonstration was recently witnessed.
On Tuesday, Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury, the minister of education, said that if any discrepancies or unclear passages were found in the story, it would be amended. The ministry declared the next day, Wednesday, January 24, in a notice that the committee consisting of five members will assist the National Curriculum and Textbook Board by carrying out a more comprehensive examination of the subject matter.
The Education Ministry's Information and Public Relations Officer, Mohammad Abul Khair confirmed to Bangladesh Post about the committee.
He said the committee will look into the Sharifa's Story issue, determine whether it is appropriate, and carefully assess how religious sentiment will be affected. Following their remarks and observations, the story may continue as is, be removed, or be added to the higher classes.
According to the notice, this committee's convener is Professor Abdur Rashid, Vice Chancellor of Islamic Arabic University.
The Islamic Foundation Governor Mufti Maulana Kofil Uddin Sarkar, NCTB Member Mashiuzzaman, the Director of the Dhaka University Institute of Education and Research, and the Principal of Dhaka Alia Madrasah, Mohammad Abdur Rashid, are among the other members of the committee.
According to the Textbook narrative, Sharif identifies as a woman and takes on the name Sharifa after realizing that his acts and behaviors are quite different from a masculine person. Afterwards, Sharifa decides to live in the "Hijra" community.
This story came under the national spotlight when Asif Mahtab, a part-time lecturer at BRAC University, objected to the incorporation of this story in the textbook, arguing that students were "being introduced to transgender and homosexual concepts" through this story.
On January 19, Mahtab said these things at the Institute of Diploma Engineers in the Kakrail neighborhood of Dhaka, where he was attending a seminar on the new curriculum.
In a social media sensational video, he is seen ripping pages out of the textbook that told the story.
Asif Mahtab claimed in a Facebook post on January 21 that he was fired by BRAC University officials. Discussions on social media and on campus at the university intensified in favor of and against Asif's criticism as word of his termination spread.
A group of BRAC students demonstrated against the teacher's dismissal on Tuesday.