Sheherbano was born on 22nd May, 1972, in Peshawar, Pakistan. She spent her formative years in the cocoon of the Air Force Cantonment area, a tight knit community, where lifelong friendships and fellowships were forged and sealed, and idealism reigned supreme.

In 1977, Sheherbano’s father’s next posting took them to Karachi, the largest city and former capital of Pakistan. She started her schooling the same year she moved to Karachi, at the Convent of Jesus and Mary, a missionary school and a remnant of the colonial era, run largely by Canadian and British nuns. She completed her O’Levels at this school and went on to do her A’Levels from the Lyceum School Karachi.

Seemingly harsh and ruthless at first glance, Karachi was the diametric opposite of Utopian Peshawar Cantt. However, in time, Sheherbano learned to love the hustle and bustle of this manic and ethnically diverse metropolis. Many a magical summer was spent in her grandmother’s house, listening to fantastic tales about mythical beings, prophets and imams, and playing with an army of cousins.

Since there were only a handful of museums and galleries at that time, Sheherbano was initially exposed only to Western art, first via her mother’s collection of prints of Romantic and Impressionist painters and later through text books at her school, where the education was largely Eurocentric. Furthermore, her parents ensured that a large chunk of their vacations in Europe, Britain and the USA were spent at museums, as a part of their children’s education. It wasn’t until the tenth grade that she discovered Sadequain, Ahmed Pervez and other great artists from her own country. By the time sheherbano completed her A’Levels, she knew she wanted to be an artist. 

Sheherbano joined the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, in 1991, where she studied under renowned artists like Samina Mansuri, Sumaya Durrani, Meher Afroze, Noor Jehan Bilgrami and many others, for four years, obtaining a degree in Painting and Printmaking. 

Sheherbano has had very diverse experiences since her graduation in 1995. She has taught painting, drawing and art theory at the Indus Valley School of Art, the University of Karachi and the International School, Karachi and free lanced as an art critic for Newsline, Karachi. She has also been on curatorial committees of exhibitions (Takhti, Rebel Angel: Asim Butt), co-curated exhibitions with Amin Gulgee (Body, Calligraphy) and been a juror for the Karachi International Film Festival (Kara Film Fest). She has even worked with the late Documentary Filmmaker, Obaidullah Baig (Editing, Narration), volunteered for the Human Rights Education Program, Pakistan, and illustrated children’s books for the Book Group, Karachi. She recently also completed a Diploma Course in Interior Design with Interior Designer/Educationist, Zain Mustafa.

Sheherbano has participated in art residencies and held several exhibitions of her work at home and abroad. She received a blue ribbon (1st Prize) for a juried exhibition, conducted by the Brazos Valley Art League, USA, in 1996, during her stint at the Texas A&M University, doing a semester of study in Metaphysics. She was later nominated for the Lux Style Award in 2003 and the Asian Sovereign Art Prize, Hong Kong, in 2011. She moved to Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, after getting married in 2014, and now divides her time between Karachi and Islamabad.