Sheeba Aslam Fehmi

Sheeba Aslam Fehmi is a feminist writer, research scholar and a senior journalist based in India.

Early life Sheeba Aslam Fehmi was born in a middle-class family in the city of Kanpur in North India. Her parents had keen interest in Indian politics. Her father served in Ministry of Defense while her mother was a teacher by profession and both her parents were staunch communists as Kanpur was once a strong centre of communist activities, also the place where Communist Party of India came into existence. As a child, Sheeba was more inclined towards documentaries rather than regular entertainment. At a young age, she used to watch documentaries about people like Ho Chi Minh, Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and Vietnam War.

Inspiration Sheeba Fehmi was inspired by her mother’s life experiences. She believed that her mother's story was similar to that of many women in male dominated societies in the Middle East and South Asia. Sheeba’s defining experience as an aspiring activist occurred when her parents divorced. Although her mother was a very educated woman, she was unaware of the many rights that Muslim women have in Islam. Sheeba believes that her lack of knowledge placed her at a disadvantage during this difficult time. To Sheeba, her mother’s story is the story of many women in patriarchal societies in the Middle East and South Asia where many religious leaders are often charged with subverting the teachings of Islam to justify their own ends. Sheeba therefore decided to deepen her own understanding of the Quran in order to better articulate the equality of Muslim women and men in Islam.