Monira Sharmin

Monira Sharmin completed her higher education at the University of Dhaka, where she studied at the Department of Disaster Science and Climate Resilience.^[3] The department trains scholars in disaster risk reduction, climate adaptation, and environmental governance — fields that would later inform Sharmin's public commentary and journalistic output.

During her time at Dhaka University she was a resident of Kabi Sufia Kamal Hall, the university's residential hall for female students. In 2019 she was elected general secretary of the Kabi Sufia Kamal Hall Parliament,^[4] a student governance body, at a time when student union elections across Bangladeshi universities were marked by controversy over Bangladesh Chhatra League dominance.

Following her studies, Sharmin pursued a career in journalism and the humanitarian sector. She contributed articles to The Daily Star, Bangladesh's leading English-language daily, where she was listed as a contributor with expertise in disaster management and climate issues.^[6] Her published work addressed topics including Bangladesh's seismic monitoring infrastructure, climate change and gender-based vulnerability, and the political legacy of the July uprising.

She also contributed op-eds to The Daily Observer, reflecting on governance and social policy in Bangladesh. Her LinkedIn profile described her background as rooted in "Disaster Management" and work in the "Humanitarian sector."^[3]

In November 2023, Sharmin joined the state-owned Bangladesh Krishi Bank as an Officer General.^[5] She served for approximately two years before resigning in December 2025 to pursue full-time political work with the NCP. This period of public employment later became legally consequential when her parliamentary nomination was scrutinised in April 2026 (see § 2026 parliamentary nomination).

Monira Sharmin was among the active participants in the Bangladesh quota reform movement that escalated into the broader mass uprising of July–August 2024, resulting in the fall of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government.^[7] She was involved in the Students Against Discrimination movement and subsequent civic organising that emerged from the uprising.

NCP convener Nahid Islam later noted that women were among the foremost stakeholders in the July uprising, yet many had retreated from public life thereafter — partly owing to intense cyberbullying. It was this gap that Sharmin's leadership of Jatiya Nari Shakti was intended to address.^[1]

After the uprising, the Jatiya Nagorik Committee was established in September 2024 as an interim civic body bringing together uprising leaders and civil society figures. Sharmin joined as a joint convener and executive member,^[6] working to build district-level structures across Bangladesh. Her name was among those under consideration for senior positions when the committee began finalising the leadership structure of what would become the NCP.^[7]

The National Citizen Party was formally launched on 28 February 2025 with Nahid Islam as its convener and Akhter Hossen as member secretary.^[7] The party positioned itself as a youth-led, centrist, and "Bangladesh-centric" formation, drawing leadership from both Students Against Discrimination and the Jatiya Nagorik Committee.^[8]

Sharmin was appointed joint convener of the NCP's central committee in March 2025.^[5] In the 13th Bangladesh general election held on 12 February 2026, the NCP contested 125 seats and won six. Sharmin was listed as the party's candidate for Naogaon-5 constituency.^[9]

On 28 December 2025, the NCP joined the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party alliance ahead of the general election.^[8]

The Jatiya Nari Shakti (Bengali: জাতীয় নারী শক্তি; National Women's Force) was formally launched on 8 March 2026, coinciding with International Women's Day, at the Sagar–Runi Auditorium of the Dhaka Reporters Unity in Dhaka.^[1] NCP convener Nahid Islam announced Monira Sharmin as convener, Mahmuda Alam Mitu (a physician) as member secretary, and Nusrat Tabassum as chief organiser.^[4] All three had been active participants in the 2024 July uprising.

We will try to find those women across the country whose voices were lost in July. Jatiya Nari Shakti will bring them forward once again.

The launch event was accompanied by a panel discussion featuring former interim government adviser Farida Akhter; Sabikun Nahar Munni of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami's women's wing; The Daily Star journalist Zyma Islam; DUCSU leader Fatima Tasnim Juma; and North South University student Nafsin Mehnaz Azirin. The session was moderated by Nusrat Tabassum.^[4]

NCP had not initially planned a separate women's wing; Nahid Islam stated the party originally intended to address women's issues within its main structures. A dedicated body was later judged necessary to focus specifically on women's rights and political participation.^[4]

On 18 April 2026, the NCP announced a full 53-member central convening committee for Jatiya Nari Shakti, approved under the direction of NCP convener Nahid Islam and member secretary Akhter Hossen.^[11] Monira Sharmin continued as convener, Mahmuda Alam Mitu was confirmed as member secretary, and Sanzida Bushra Mishma was appointed senior joint convener. Nusrat Tabassum was confirmed as chief organiser. Joint conveners included Hafsa Jahan, Nabila Tasnid, Khandakar Khaleda Akter, Ashrefa Khatun, and Muna Hafsa. Manjila Jhuma was named senior joint member secretary.^[11]

Following the NCP's participation in the Jamaat-led 11-party alliance, which secured 77 parliamentary seats in the 12 February 2026 general election, the alliance was entitled to 13 reserved women's seats in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad, distributed proportionally among member parties.^[12] The NCP nominated Monira Sharmin and Mahmuda Alam Mitu as its two candidates.^[12]

During scrutiny, returning officer and Joint Secretary of the Election Commission Secretariat Moin Uddin Khan declared Sharmin's nomination invalid under Article 12(1)(c) of the Representation of the People Order, on the grounds that she had resigned from Bangladesh Krishi Bank in December 2025, fewer than three years before the election date.^[5] Sharmin told reporters she would appeal the decision after consulting her lawyer.^[5]