Ms. Sheema Kermani

 

Sheema Kermani or Kirmani is a Pakistani social activist, the founder of Tehrik-e-Niswan Organization, and an exponent of Bharatanatyam dance.

Kermani was born into a middle-class educated family in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. She went to the Convent of Jesus and Mary in Karachi. Later she went to London to earn a degree in arts and returned to Pakistan. She realized that women in the Pakistani society were not able to get equality in the society so she started a movement called 'Tehrik-e-Niswan' (Women's Movement) and raised her voice for their rights, health issues, education, and equality.

Kermani's father was a retired Brigadier from the Pakistan Army and a Chairman of KESC (Karachi Electric Supply Corporation). Kermani started learning Bharatanatyam in the mid-1960s. Kirmani learned Odissi under Aloka Panicker and Bharatanatyam under Leela Samson during her visits to India. Her first solo performance was at Pakistan in 1984. She also conducts theater workshops under the guidance of theater director Prasanna Ramaswamy in Karachi and heads a cultural organization, Tehrik-e-Niswan in Karachi.

She performed at the Faiz Aman Mela, Lahore where she paid a tribute to Asma Jahangir. She said we can bring peace, harmony, and equality by loving each other and by sharing the message of love with each other. In 2017 Kermani appeared at the shrine of Sehwan Sharif after the barbaric suicide attack and performed dhamal (a Sufi dance form). She gave a passionate performance and told the media that nobody can stop music and dance.