Dr. Aqsa Shaikh (She/Her) is an out and proud transgender woman and one of India’s first transgender doctors. A Professor of Community Medicine at Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, she has been a frontline contributor to India’s COVID-19 response. Her research spans vaccine access, adult immunization, and inclusive healthcare for transgender and disabled communities. Beyond academia, Aqsa is a passionate advocate for rights-based gender justice. She successfully petitioned the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights to ban unnecessary sex-normalizing surgeries on intersex children and helped make Delhi Metro’s toilet signage inclusive. She is part of the iHEAR initiative at Sangath India and a member of the National Taskforce on Student Suicide Prevention in Higher Education.
Aqsa is also a TEDx and Josh Talks speaker, poet, short story writer, and practitioner of the Theatre of the Oppressed. Her writings appear in Times of India, Indian Express, Hindustan Times. A recipient of Devi Awards by The New Indian Express Group, she is Jury Member of Pride Fund India, Advisory board member of CHELP and QAMRA.
Whether through science, storytelling, or activism, Dr. Aqsa Shaikh embodies the spirit of resilience, inclusion, and equity.