| Roohi Zuberi | |
| Birth Date: | 1959 3, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Etah, Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Residence: | Aligarh, India |
| Nationality: | Indian |
| Office: | President of Women's Welfare Society[1] |
| Alma Mater: | Aligarh Muslim University |
| Spouse: | Ahmad Ziauddin |
| Profession: | Advocate, Counselor, Social worker, Politician, Activist |
| Party: | Indian National Congress |
Roohi Zuberi (born 24 March 1959) is an Indian social worker and women's rights activist.[1][2] Zuberi has also served as a senior cabinet member at Mumbai University.
Roohi Zuberi has played an important role in promoting social issues in India. She served as district president of the National Students' Union of India during her university years at Aligarh Muslim University. Zuberi is an advocate for minority rights.[3]
In 1986, she established the Women's Welfare Society in Northern and Central India (महिला कल्याण समिति). In 2000, she ran for mayor of Aligarh on the Indian National Congress ticket. Zuberi advocated for enacting a Muslim matrimonial code that emphasized the bride's consent to marriage.
On 30 January 2014, she was appointed to the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee's Executive Committee.
Roohi Zuberi with President of India Smt. Pratibha Devi Singh Patil
Zuberi is currently president of the Women's Welfare Society in Uttar Pradesh and is a member of the Executive Committee of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee and the Minority Cell of the All India Mahila Congress.
Zuberi has actively participated in various political movements, notably as a member of the Indian National Congress. She has spoken out against discrimination and advocated for policies that support minority communities, including Muslim and other underrepresented groups. Her work emphasizes the importance of representation in politics.
Women's Welfare Society, Zuberi has collaborated with various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to address social issues such as domestic violence, poverty, and gender inequality.
Roohi Zuberi hails from a prominent family in Marehra, Uttar Pradesh, India. Her father, the late Mr. Bashir Mahmood Zuberi (Advocate) (1921-1993), was a notable freedom fighter during the Indian Independence Struggle against British Raj. He was also a social worker, politician, and the Chairman of the Marehra Municipal Board. Throughout his life, he dedicated much of his personal wealth to the development and welfare of the local community. In his honor, the B. M. Zuberi Hospital, a civil government hospital in Marehra, is named after him.[5]
Zuberi is also related to Maulvi Bashir Uddin,[6] who devoted his resources to establishing Islamia College in Etawah, Uttar Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, in 1888. This institution aimed to provide educational opportunities similar to those of the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College. Uddin was a member of the Indian National Congress, known for wearing Khadi and for publishing the respected paper al-Bashir. Despite being awarded the Padma Shri, he declined to accept it, just as he did with the title of Khan Bahadur. Notably, former President of India Dr. Zakir Husain was a student at Islamia College.[7]
Roohi Zuberi is also the daughter-in-law[8] of Dr Sir Ziauddin Ahmad,[9] a distinguished mathematician and former Parliamentarian. He was a key figure in the Aligarh Movement and served as Vice Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University,[10] for three terms, later becoming its Rector.
Additionally, her maternal uncle, Matin Zuberi,[11] [12] was a scholar of international relations. Born in Marehra on July 15, 1930, he earned his Master's degree from Aligarh Muslim University before continuing his studies at St. Anthony's and Balliol Colleges at the University of Oxford. Upon returning to India, he became a senior fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study in Shimla and joined Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in 1978, where he taught until 1995.
As a professor of international politics and disarmament studies at JNU, Professor Zuberi was an influential observer of international nuclear developments.[13] He served on the National Security Advisory Board during three terms (1990–91, 1998–99, and 2000–01) and contributed to the Draft Indian Nuclear Doctrine. He was also part of the Indian delegation to the United Nations Conference on Disarmament and Development and held positions in various prestigious organizations related to defense and international studies.
Zuberi started her education in her hometown Marehra and thereafter moved to Aligarh for higher education. Her alma mater is Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Roohi Zuberi is married to Ahmad Zia-ud-din and they have three sons, Md. Zia-ud-din (Rahi), Shahbaz Zia-ud-din, Sheeraz Ahmad [14] and a daughter, Sadaf Ahmad.