In an era where professional identities are often confined to a single field, Hiba Khan represents an unusual blend of art, technology, environmental advocacy, and ethical living.
Widely recognised as India’s first female vegan tabla artist, Hiba Khan is an UN-certified Climate Awareness Professional, sustainability educator, public speaker, and founder of Hiba Green Voice, an environmental awareness initiative operating under Hiba Green Foundation.
Born in Kanpur and partly raised in Lucknow, Hiba comes from a Computer Science Engineering background and spent nearly a decade building leadership experience in the cybersecurity industry while simultaneously pursuing her passion for sustainability and social impact. Her journey spans climate awareness, digital communication, ethical living, youth engagement, and music — disciplines that rarely intersect, yet collectively define her work. In a decision that surprised many around her, Hiba declined a United States-based professional opportunity to take on full-time responsibility for Hiba Green Foundation, transitioning from corporate leadership to environmental leadership and choosing purpose-driven work centred around climate awareness, sustainability education, and community action.
What makes her musical journey particularly distinctive is her commitment to cruelty-free artistic practice. Hiba performs on a synthetic tabla instead of conventional animal-skin percussion instruments, using music as a medium to inspire conversations around compassionate choices and cruelty-free sadhana. Through her performances and public engagements, she encourages aspiring musicians to explore ethical alternatives without compromising their connection to art or tradition.
Apart from being recognised as India’s first female vegan tabla artist, Hiba is also among the first Female Muslim women in India to publicly advocate veganism since 2014, promoting compassionate and environmentally responsible lifestyles long before such conversations entered mainstream public discourse.
Through climate awareness campaigns, educational initiatives, public speaking, podcasts, and digital storytelling, her work has collectively reached more than 25 lakh people across social media platforms, academic institutions, and public forums.
As founder of Hiba Green Foundation, Hiba focuses on simplifying complex environmental issues into relatable conversations for young people and the wider public. Her work covers climate change, food systems, biodiversity loss, sustainable consumption, waste management, population awareness, and behavioural transformation.
One of her most ambitious initiatives is an afforestation mission under Hiba Green Foundation with a target of planting 1,00,000 trees by December 2026. The initiative seeks to contribute towards addressing rising heatwaves, ecological imbalance, deforestation, and increasing climate stress across India.
So far, Hiba and her team have facilitated the plantation of more than 2,000+ trees through community-led environmental efforts and ecological restoration activities.
Her work also highlights the connection between environmental sustainability and social wellbeing. Hiba believes that climate change is not gender-neutral. Heatwaves, droughts, floods, and erratic rainfall often hit economically vulnerable families the hardest, and the burden frequently falls disproportionately on women and girls. Financial hardship can force girls to discontinue their education, while access to basic menstrual hygiene products becomes a challenge for many households. Through community initiatives, Hiba Green Foundation facilitates the distribution of approximately 200 sanitary pads every month among women and girls from economically vulnerable communities, while raising awareness about the gendered impacts of climate change and poverty.
Beyond grassroots initiatives, Hiba has actively participated in public discourse on sustainability and ethical living. She has spoken at the Animal Rights Conference held at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), participated in discussions on sustainable tourism and responsible living, and regularly engages with students and young professionals through awareness sessions and public campaigns.
Her vision is simple yet ambitious: to make climate consciousness emotionally relatable, culturally adaptable, and accessible to every young person in India.
At a time when environmental challenges are becoming increasingly urgent, voices capable of connecting science, culture, ethics, and everyday behaviour are more important than ever.
Somewhere between the rhythm of a synthetic tabla and the dream of planting 100,000 trees, Hiba Khan continues to carve a path uniquely her own.
