Sharmin Shobnum Joya is the Partnerships and Projects Manager at Bangladesh Midwifery Society.  She has a Master’s degree in Sociology and Anthropology and has 20 years’ experience working in the development sector in Bangladesh.  Since 2017, working with its elected officers, Sharmin has led the transformation of the Bangladesh Midwifery Society from a nurse-led to midwife-led organisation, in partnership with the Royal College of Midwives in the UK.  She is not a midwife but is a dedicated advocate for midwives and committed to enabling midwives to raise their voices in Bangladesh, so that every woman will have access to high-quality care from a midwife.

Sharmin is Vice President of the Feminist Network of Bangladesh and an active member of the National Gender Working Group.  Prior to her employment with the Bangladesh Midwifery Society she worked USAID and Muslim Aid.  Sharmin is married with two children and lives in Dhaka, Bangladesh.