Sharmin Begum, a 25-year-old woman from the Mantha community, resides on a boat near Arialkha River, close to the Laharhat Bazar in the Tungibaria Union of Barishal Sadar Upazila. For generations, she has been living on the boat and fishing in the river for survival like others women from her Mantha community. Although born in Bangladesh, Sharmin had never been recognized as a citizen by the state. She lacked a birth registration, a national ID card, and, as a result, could not vote or access government services. For years, she felt invisible, as though her existence was overlooked by the state.