Leila Sheikh or Sheikh-Hashim (died 2023) was a Tanzanian journalist, women's rights activist and blogger. She was a founder member of Tanzania Media Women's Association (TAMWA) and became TAMWA's Executive Director in 1996.^[1]

Leila Sheikh was one of the founder members of TAMWA in 1987,^[2] and later documented TAMWA's history.^[3] She was editor of TAMWA's magazine, Sauti ya Siti [Women's Voice]. In 1992, she oversaw a special issue on violence against women, with funding from the Swedish International Development Agency.^[4]

Sheikh was a TEDxDar speaker in November 2011.^[5] Though no longer Executive Director of TAMWA, she remained active as a women's rights activist in Dar es Salaam.^[6][7] She owned a consultancy firm, Studio Calabash Ltd, which designed lobbying strategies and public education programmes. She also worked as a media producer and scriptwriter.^[2]

Leila Sheikh died on 11 June 2023.^[8]

• (with Anna Gabba) Ukatili dhidi ya wanawake mkoani Dar es Salaam : ushahidi katika wilaya tatu, Ilala, Temeke na Kinondoni [Violence against women in Dar es Salaam region: evidence from three districts, Ilala, Temeke and Kinondoni]. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania : Chama cha Waandishi wa Habari Wanawake Tanzania, 1990.
• A survey of sexual harassment in Dar es Salaam, [Dar-es-Salaam] : The Association, 1990.
• 'Violence against Women is a Violation of Human Rights', Sauti ya Siti (November 1992), pp.3-10
• The rights of women in Islam. Dar es Salaam: Tanzania Media Women's Association, 1996.
• 'TAMWA: Leila's Song – Supporting Women in Tanzania, in Hope Bagyendera Chigudu, ed. (2002). Composing a New Song: Stories of Empowerment from Africa. Commonwealth Secretariat. pp. 95–. ISBN 978-1-77922-015-8.

• Leila Sheikh at IMDb
• Leila Sheikh at African Feminist Forum
• Leila's Cafe