Neelam Gupta

Farah Hussain grew up in a family where public service was a way of life. Her mother, Rukhsana Hussain, came from a family of Army officers, while her father, Ashfaq Hussain, belonged to a family of IAS officers.

Given this background, it would have been natural for her to marry an IAS officer and settle into that life. Instead, Farah chose a different path. She wanted to earn the distinction herself rather than be known merely as an IAS officer's wife.

She cleared the UPSC Civil Services Examination in 2016 on her second attempt, securing the 267th rank. She joined the Indian Revenue Service and was posted as an Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax in Udaipur. After serving in Jodhpur and Jaipur, she is now posted as Joint Commissioner in Bharatpur, where, as Range Head, she oversees four districts.

Farah Hussain

Farah says, "I haven't faced any difficulties working in the department—not anywhere. Everyone is very supportive. However, I do feel that there are very few women in our department, at both senior and junior levels."

Asked whether her achievement as Rajasthan's first Muslim woman to reach such a senior position in the department could inspire young girls—particularly in a community where social restrictions on women are often greater—Farah responds cautiously.

"I cannot say anything for certain. There is no shortage of high-ranking administrative officers in my own family. Yet, among all the daughters in my extended family, I was the first to decide to join the service. Everyone had pursued higher education; it is a matter of personal inclination. But yes, women occupying high-ranking positions in offices does bring about some change in society."

Farah's father hails from Nawa village in Rajasthan's Jhunjhunu district. After joining the Rajasthan Administrative Service and later being promoted to the IAS, he was posted in Ajmer, where Farah spent most of her childhood and completed her schooling at private English-medium schools.

Farah Hussain and her husband Qamar-ul-Zaman Choudhary

She later moved to Mumbai to study law, earning a five-year BLS-LLB degree from Government Law College. She subsequently worked with noted lawyers and law firms, including Mahesh Jethmalani, Justice Rohal Dalvi, Trilegal, and Ashok Pratap & Co., before deciding against an independent legal practice.

Explaining that decision, she says, "I wanted to become an IAS officer. My father used to say that if I was going to pursue a career, it should be the IAS. That was my dream too. So, I returned home and prepared for the IAS exam—without any coaching. My results weren't very good the first time around. The second time, I secured the 267th rank. Based on that, I was appointed to the Indian Revenue Service in 2016. It required a lot of hard work, but that is something I have been doing all along."

She recalls that not everyone in her extended family welcomed her decision to study in Mumbai.

Farah Hussain unfurling the national flag

"It’s not as if there wasn't any talk about me within my family. Our relatives living in the villages didn't approve of me going to Mumbai for my studies. They felt it was a mistake to send me away—that it would create hurdles for my marriage. But neither my family nor I paid any heed to such talk. Marriage wasn't even on my mind; I felt that would happen naturally in due course. What mattered was studying and making something of myself, and I worked hard towards that."

Her determination paid off. She joined the Indian Revenue Service in 2016 and married IAS officer Qamar-ul-Zaman Choudhary the following year.

Farah says she has received the same encouragement from her marital family that she enjoyed at home.

ALSO READ: Writer-Journo Zeenat Kaife fought against patriarchy, orthodoxy

"I haven't faced any issues at my in-laws' place either. My mother-in-law doesn't expect me to do any household chores; in fact, she discourages it. I enjoy cooking, so I do that of my own volition. I have two children—a son and a daughter—and I personally oversee their education. They are both quite young right now. I don't speculate about what my daughter will become; I want both my children to receive a good education and grow into good human beings. They will make their own life choices, just as I did. I received full support from my family, and they will too."