In 2013 Sharmeen went to a fundamentalist Islamic rally to report about it for Ekushey Television. At the rally, Hefazat-e-Islam activists attacked Sharmeen. The reason for the rally was to demand laws to limit or control the mixing of men and women in the same space, punish atheists, require women to wear headscarves, and other religion-based rules. The Hefazat had a list with 13 demands. They wanted the government to stop supporting the current Women's Policy, which was planned to create gender equality.