Monira Sharmin
Monira Sharmin () is a Bangladeshi politician and civic activist who has been serving as the founding convener of the Jatiya Nari Shakti, the women's wing of the National Citizen Party (NCP) since March 2026. She also serves as a joint convener of the NCP's central committee.
She was elected general secretary of the Kabi Sufia Kamal Hall council in the 2019 Dhaka University Central Students' Union elections, and was formerly a joint convener and executive member of the Jatiya Nagorik Committee. Sharmin rose to prominence as a participant in the July Uprising of 2024.
In April 2026, her nomination paper for a reserved women's seat in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad was rejected during scrutiny on the grounds that fewer than three years had elapsed since her resignation from the state-owned Bangladesh Krishi Bank.
Education
Monira Sharmin completed her higher education at the University of Dhaka, where she studied at the Department Of Disaster Science and Climate Resilience.
During her time at the university she was a residential student of Kabi Sufia Kamal Hall. In 2019, she was elected general secretary of the Kabi Sufia Kamal Hall council of the Dhaka University Central Students' Union (DUCSU).
Journalism and humanitarian work
Following her studies, Sharmin pursued a career in journalism and the humanitarian sector. She contributed articles to The Daily Star.
Bangladesh Krishi Bank
In November 2023, Sharmin joined the state-owned Bangladesh Krishi Bank as an Officer General. 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).
July Uprising
Sharmin was among the active participants of the 2024 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. She was involved with the Students Against Discrimination 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.
Jatiya Nagorik Committee
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, working to build district-level structures across Bangladesh.
Early involvement with the National Citizen Party
The National Citizen Party was formally launched on 28 February 2025 with Nahid Islam as its convener and Akhter Hossen as member secretary. Sharmin was appointed joint convener of the NCP's central committee in March 2025. In the 13th Jatiya Sangsad election held on 12 February 2026, the NCP contested 32 seats and won six. Sharmin was initially listed as the party's candidate for Naogaon-5 constituency, but was dropped out after the NCP joined the Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11 Party Alliance.
Convener of the Jatiya Nari Shakti
The Jatiya Nari Shakti was formally launched on 8 March 2026, coinciding with International Women's Day, at the Sagar–Runi Auditorium of the Dhaka Reporters Unity. NCP convener Islam announced Sharmin as convener, Mahmuda Mitu as member secretary, and Nusrat Tabassum as chief organiser. On 18 April 2026, the party announced a full 53-member central convening committee for the organization, which confirmed Sharmin's position as the convenor.
2026 parliamentary nomination
Following the NCP's participation in the 11 Party Alliance, which secured 77 parliamentary seats in the parliamentary election, the alliance was entitled to 13 reserved women's seats in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad, distributed among the member parties. The NCP nominated Monira Sharmin and Mahmuda Mitu as its two candidates.
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. Sharmin told reporters she would appeal the decision after consulting her lawyer.
Views and positions
On organisational expansion, Sharmin has expressed plans to establish additional NCP-affiliated bodies, including a peasant's wing, Jatiya Krishak Shakti, and a volunteer's wing, Jatiya Swechchhasebak Shakti.
Sharmin has spoken publicly about the sharp drop in women's visibility in Bangladeshi politics following the July uprising, identifying cyberbullying as a major structural barrier, and has stated that Jatiya Nari Shakti will work to resist online harassment and amplify the voices of women who were active during the uprising but subsequently retreated from public life.