Guli Sheikh, Baroness Sheikh of Cornhill in the City of London (née Guli Muradova; Гули Мурадова) is an Uzbek-British artist, socialite, UN Women UK delegate and philanthropist.[1] [2] [3] She is the founder of Women's Leadership.
The Lady Sheikh was born in 1985 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan to Samarkand Tajik parents.[4] [5] She developed an early interest in the arts, participating in drama and musical events during her education.[6] She graduated with a post graduate diploma in nursing from Uzbekistan.[7]
In 2006, she moved to the United Kingdom for higher education and studied at the Said Business School at the University of Oxford Women's Development and Leadership.[4] She also holds a diploma in strategic management and leadership level 7 extended diploma from BTEC, Pearson in the UK.[6]
The Lady Sheikh began her career as a nurse at the regional branch of the Emergency Hospital in Samarkand Neurology department in Uzbekistan.[8]
In 2014, she began her painting career during which she received support from a private studio.[6] She also engages in writing love poetry. In 2018, she married Lord Mohamed Sheikh, Baron Sheikh of Cornhill in the City of London, a member of the British House of Lords.[9] [10] Later, she co-founded The Silk Route Global with Lord Sheikh, a UK-based trading company that connects Central Asian artisans with European countries.[5] [8] [11]
She is also the founder of The London College of English in Tashkent, which focuses on teaching English language and culture.[7] [12] [13]
In 2020, she was appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador of the Nazari Digar movement, an organization that provides support to children with Down syndrome and their families in Tajikistan.[4] During the COVID-19 pandemic, she donated 75 million soms to help people in Sardoba.[14]