No dream too big, no goal too far: Daughter of auto driver becomes Maharashtra's first Muslim woman IAS officer

New Indian Express

27-04-2025

MAHARASHTRA: Infamous for its high farmer suicide rate, the parched and drought-prone Yawatmal district in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra now has a reason to celebrate. It has produced the state's first Muslim female IAS officer. Adiba Anam, daughter of an auto driver, is the first Muslim woman from the state to join the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) after securing the 142 All India Rank in the Union Public Service Commission this year.
Though Ashfaq Sheikh (Adiba's father) was not privileged enough to complete his education as circumstances forced him to drop out in tenth standard, he pledged not to let his daughter face the same fate. He provided all possible facilities and encouragement to Adiba, a bright student since childhood.
Adiba's two younger brothers are also following their sister's footsteps. After securing 98% in 10th standard and 97% in the science stream in 12th standard, Adiba left Yawatmal and shifted to Pune, from where she graduated in Mathematics.
'After graduation, many students lack clarity regarding their future. But my eyes were set on civil service exams since Class 12. I knew what I wanted to become and worked towards it. My maternal uncle, who works as secretary to Seva NGO, introduced me to the IAS officers, and this fascination became my interest. I made IAS as a dream and worked relentlessly to pursue it,' she said.
She said the road to success was never easy; it had a lot of hurdles and potholes, but she was determined to chase her IAS dream.
'After completing graduation, I started to prepare for civil service exams. My first two attempts were heartbreaking, but I never lost hope. In the second attempt, I reached the interview stage but failed to make it to the final selection list of UPSC. I took it as a challenge and determined to work harder,' said Adiba.
'Studying is not easy to study, especially for girls in patriarchal communities like Muslim, but my parents stood by me. I am very grateful to my mother, who was a solid support and pillar for me. The community was against girls pursuing higher studies, but my father told me not to worry about society, and focus onthe goal. My parents never let the societal pressure even touch me,' she said.
Adiba said she comes from a very humble financial background. 'Being an auto driver, my father found it tough to meet my education expenses. But he was determined not to let the resource crunch affect his children. The journey was arduous, but my parental support kept clearing the impediments,' she said.
IAS is the first step to serving society. 'My area of interest will be to work for the underprivileged, especially girls. I want to contribute to the education and health sector,' Adiba said.
Advising civil service aspirants never to give up, she says that failures are part of lives but one should learn from them and emerge stronger. 'Failures are part of life. We have to learn from our mistakes and make fresh attempts with more corrective measures,' she added.