Leila Sheikh or Sheikh-Hashim (died 2023) was a Tanzanian journalist, women's rights activist and blogger. She was a founder member of Tanzania Media Women's Association (TAMWA) and became TAMWA's Executive Director in 1996.
Life
Leila Sheikh was one of the founder members of TAMWA in 1987, and later documented TAMWA's history. She was editor of TAMWA's magazine, Sauti ya Siti . In 1992, she oversaw a special issue on violence against women, with funding from the Swedish International Development Agency.
Sheikh was a TEDxDar speaker in November 2011. Though no longer Executive Director of TAMWA, she remained active as a women's rights activist in Dar es Salaam. She owned a consultancy firm, Studio Calabash Ltd, which designed lobbying strategies and public education programmes. She also worked as a media producer and scriptwriter.
Leila Sheikh died on 11 June 2023.
Works
- (with Anna Gabba) Ukatili dhidi ya wanawake mkoani Dar es Salaam : ushahidi katika wilaya tatu, Ilala, Temeke na Kinondoni . Dar es Salaam, Tanzania : Chama cha Waandishi wa Habari Wanawake Tanzania, 1990.
- A survey of sexual harassment in Dar es Salaam, : The Association, 1990.
- 'Violence against Women is a Violation of Human Rights', Sauti ya Siti (November 1992), pp.3-10
- The rights of women in Islam. Dar es Salaam: Tanzania Media Women's Association, 1996.
- 'TAMWA: Leila's Song – Supporting Women in Tanzania, in Hope Bagyendera Chigudu, ed. (2002). Composing a New Song: Stories of Empowerment from Africa. Commonwealth Secretariat. pp. 95–. ISBN 978-1-77922-015-8.
References
- Hope Bagyendera Chigudu (2002). Composing a New Song: Stories of Empowerment from Africa. Commonwealth Secretariat. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-77922-015-8.
- ^ Aili Mari Tripp (2017). "The women's movement in Tanzania". In Balghis Badri; Aili Mari Tripp (eds.). Women's Activism in Africa: Struggles for Rights and Representation. Zed Books Ltd. p. 121,131. ISBN 978-1-78360-911-6.
- Kathleen E. Sheldon (2005). "Tanzania Media Women's Association (TAMWA)". Historical Dictionary of Women in Sub-Saharan Africa. Scarecrow Press. p. 241. ISBN 978-0-8108-5331-7.
- Sauti ya Siti : a Tanzanian women's magazine : a special issue on violence against women
- TEDxDar | TED
- Kizito Makoye, Tanzania launches crackdown on child marriage with 30-year jail terms, Reuters, July 4 , 2016.
- Kizito Makoye, African Governments Join Activists to Fight Sextortion, www.indepthnews.net.
- Takwa, Esther (13 June 2023). "Tamwa's founder Leyla Sheikh dies aged 65". Daily News. Retrieved 20 January 2024.