Leila Sheikh

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.[1]

Life

Leila Sheikh was one of the founder members of TAMWA in 1987,[2] and later documented TAMWA's history.[3] She was editor of TAMWA's magazine, Sauti ya Siti [Women's Voice]. In 1992, she oversaw a special issue on violence against women, with funding from the Swedish International Development Agency.[4]

Sheikh was a TEDxDar speaker in November 2011.[5] Though no longer Executive Director of TAMWA, she remained active as a women's rights activist in Dar es Salaam.[6][7] 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.[2]

Leila Sheikh died on 11 June 2023.[8]

Works

  • (with Anna Gabba) Ukatili dhidi ya wanawake mkoani Dar es Salaam : ushahidi katika wilaya tatu, Ilala, Temeke na Kinondoni [Violence against women in Dar es Salaam region: evidence from three districts, Ilala, Temeke and Kinondoni]. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania : Chama cha Waandishi wa Habari Wanawake Tanzania, 1990.
  • A survey of sexual harassment in Dar es Salaam, [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

  1. ^ Hope Bagyendera Chigudu (2002). Composing a New Song: Stories of Empowerment from Africa. Commonwealth Secretariat. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-77922-015-8.
  2. ^ a b 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.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ Sauti ya Siti : a Tanzanian women's magazine : a special issue on violence against women
  5. ^ TEDxDar | TED
  6. ^ Kizito Makoye, Tanzania launches crackdown on child marriage with 30-year jail terms, Reuters, July 4 , 2016.
  7. ^ Kizito Makoye, African Governments Join Activists to Fight Sextortion, www.indepthnews.net.
  8. ^ Takwa, Esther (13 June 2023). "Tamwa's founder Leyla Sheikh dies aged 65". Daily News. Retrieved 20 January 2024.