Dr. Shirin Sharmin Choudhury has been elected as the first Woman Speaker of the Bangladesh Parliament -the Jatiya Sangsad. Dr Shirin Sharmin Choudhury who was nominated by the ruling Awami League was elected unanimously today by the Parliament members amidst the continuing boycott of the house proceedings by the opposition.

The election of a new Speaker of the Bangladesh Parliament took place against the backdrop Speaker Abdul Hamid being sworn in as the country’s President last week after he was elected unopposed to the post. Dr. Shirin Sharmin Choudhury who is the State Minister for Women and Children Affairs is also youngest person to be elected as the country’s speaker. Dr Shirin, a Commonwealth scholar, did her Doctor of Philosophy in Law from the University of Essex, United Kingdom in 2000 focussed on Constitutional Law and Human Rights. She is also a member of Dhaka Bar Association and Supreme Court Bar Association.