When Adiba Anam saw her name listed among the successful candidates of the 2024 Civil Services Examination, she quietly wept. In that moment, the daughter of an auto-rickshaw driver from Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district had made history — becoming the first Muslim woman from the state to join the Indian Administrative Service.
Anam, 27, secured an All India Rank of 142 in one of the country’s most competitive examinations. Her path to the IAS was anything but easy. Growing up in a modest household where her father, Ashfaq Sheikh, worked long hours ferrying passengers, Anam learned early about perseverance.
“My parents never let financial hardship be an excuse,” Anam said in a recent interview. “They believed education would open every door.”
After earning a degree in mathematics from a Pune college, Anam dedicated herself to civil services preparation, even as two attempts ended in failure. On her third try, she cleared the exam — not only for herself, but, she says, for every young girl who dares to dream beyond what society expects.
Anam’s inspiration came from an early brush with the world of administration. During childhood visits to her maternal uncle’s NGO, she met bureaucrats working on education and health projects. “I realized the power an honest officer has to change lives,” she said.
In Maharashtra, where Muslims make up about 12 percent of the population but remain underrepresented in top government posts, Anam’s achievement carries weight far beyond personal success. Advocacy groups point out that Muslim women, in particular, face layers of social and systemic barriers in accessing higher education and leadership positions.
Other Muslim women from Maharashtra have risen through the ranks of civil services, though outside the IAS. Sarah Rizvi, a 2008-batch Indian Police Service officer, now serves in Gujarat. Syeda Asma, from Nanded, cracked the Maharashtra Public Service Commission exam in 2019 and works as an Assistant Sales Tax Commissioner. Waseema Shaikh, who ranked third in the MPSC, is training as a deputy collector. Humera Ahmed, from the 1979 Indian Postal Service batch, held senior posts in postal administration across multiple states.
Yet Anam’s appointment to the IAS — often called India’s “steel frame” — marks a new chapter.
Looking ahead, Anam hopes to serve in sectors close to her heart: education, health, and women’s empowerment. “I want to make sure that no girl abandons her dreams because of where she was born or how little her family earns,” she said.
In Yavatmal, neighbors still stop to congratulate her family. Ashfaq Sheikh, who spent decades navigating the town’s dusty streets, says he never imagined his daughter’s journey would reach Delhi’s corridors of power.
“She always carried bigger dreams than what life gave us,” he said. “Now, she will carry others with her, too.”
