A report published by Awaz–The Voice (ATV), a news platform, highlights 10 Muslim change-makers in Tamil Nadu, among whom four are women. These individuals are driving social change through education, the arts, conservation, and activism. Representing diverse fields ranging from environmental protection and literature to political engagement and education, they are working to improve society across the state.
D. Sharifa Khanam is often described as a fairy godmother for battered Muslim women in Tamil Nadu. For nearly two decades, she has been active in India’s women’s movement. Based in Pudukkottai, she has dedicated her life to supporting Muslim women facing domestic violence and social injustice. As the founder of STEPS, a women’s empowerment institution, Sharifa Khanam is now working to establish a women’s mosque. She believes that Muslim women often have nowhere to turn when they face injustice. Issues such as sudden divorces, triple talaq, denial of maintenance, and domestic violence are frequently dismissed by the police as matters of Shariat or Muslim personal law and pushed back into male-dominated jamaats. In this context, women-only mosques, she argues, can serve as shelters and support spaces for battered Muslim women.
Nikath Fathima Sohail heads the MWA Matriculation School in Chennai and supports a range of educational initiatives for Muslim women. She is also co-chair of the Academy for Women and is associated with several other education-related organisations working with Muslim youth and women. Over the years, she has set up five learning centres for children with learning disabilities and leads a matriculation school that today has around 1,500 students. For nearly 30 years, she has worked for the education and social uplift of girls in Tamil Nadu. As co-chair of the Academy for Women under the umbrella of Anjuman-e-Himayat-e-Islam, her lifelong passion to help children and the destitute has empowered hundreds of young people, most of them girls, through education.
Fatima Muzaffar Ahmed represents the changing face of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). She became an office-bearer in the Chennai Corporation as one of six Muslim women councillors elected in 2022. Her election did not come as a surprise to many, given her political lineage. Her father, A.K. Abdul Samad, a former national general secretary of the IUML, represented Vellore twice in the Lok Sabha and twice in the Rajya Sabha.
Sofia Ashraf is no ordinary rap artist. She uses music as a tool of protest, women’s empowerment, and social critique. Performing in the lanes of Chennai, Sofia has challenged stereotypes about women, taboos surrounding their bodies, and even the functioning of corporations. Known for her no-holds-barred approach, she highlights issues related to women’s social status, biology, and the discrimination they face. Her rap video against Union Carbide over the Bhopal gas tragedy is widely regarded as a landmark example of art with a cause. This reporter had the opportunity to interview Sofia Ashraf for that performance, at a time when her abilities were still largely unrecognised.
Nawabzada Mohammad Asif Ali, Dewan to the Prince of Arcot, has emerged as a visible face of communal harmony and philanthropy as an heir to the royal family of Arcot. The Prince of Arcot family continues to hold quiet influence in Chennai’s social and cultural life. Ameer Mahal, their palace, serves as a centre for humanitarian initiatives led by the Arcot Foundation for the poor, irrespective of religion. While the present Prince, Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali, is widely respected in the city, much of the day-to-day outreach—charity drives, interfaith events, and other initiatives—is handled by his son, Nawabzada Mohammad Asif Ali.
Zakir Hussain is a Bharatanatyam dancer who has broken gender and community barriers through his art and now seeks empowerment through classical dance. He spent much of his younger life outside India, living in Canada, Switzerland, and Germany, where he conducted dance classes for Indian communities. His performances abroad earned him recognition and helped establish his name as a dancer beyond national boundaries.
Mohammad Saleem is a conservationist focused on rescuing endangered birds and is popularly known as Tamil Nadu’s “bird man.” Often compared to Salim Ali, he has spent his life on rescue missions involving endangered birds across India. Despite never having studied conservation biology—or even biology—Saleem holds a degree in computer science. His passion, however, has always been the well-being of voiceless creatures, including birds, snakes, dogs, and other animals. He runs an NGO, the Environment Conservation Group, to pursue a more focused and action-oriented approach to wildlife protection.
Mohammad Usman is the founder of Madrassa Imdadiya, a trust that supports blind and disabled students from some of the most deprived backgrounds. The madrassa for the visually impaired in Tamil Nadu teaches students through Braille and publishes books in Braille, made possible by Usman’s vision and commitment.
Keeranur Jakirraja is a Tamil writer whose work focuses on the lives of marginalised individuals. Today, he is a well-known name in the Tamil literary scene. Men, women, and children from marginalised Muslim communities in Tamil Nadu find representation and new life in the pages of his novels. His writing is bold and honest and has often provoked criticism from conservative and orthodox sections of the Muslim community in the state.
Mahmud Akram is a polyglot who, at the age of 19, has learned nearly 400 languages and is fluent in around 46 of them. At the age of ten, he wrote India’s national anthem in 20 different scripts in under an hour. At twelve, he translated a sentence into multiple languages within three minutes. Born to a polyglot father who had mastered 16 languages, Akram grew up immersed in sounds, scripts, and phonemes.
Together, these ten men and women from Tamil Nadu are spreading the light of empowerment and social change across the state. Through their work, they are leaving a mark in their respective fields and inspiring others to rise above their circumstances and comfort zones to make a meaningful impact on society. The report highlighting these 10 Muslim change-makers in Tamil Nadu was prepared and published by Awaz–The Voice (ATV), a news platform.
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*Journalist based in Chennai
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