As a young girl, Shaheen had the opportunity to travel abroad and get quality education. She studied at Tufts University and at the age of eighteen, returned to Mumbai to do something about the unequal opportunities that children have in India. She graduated from St. Xaviers College, Mumbai, with a BA in Sociology and then did a Masters in Education from the University of Manchester.

Working with children in disadvantaged and underserved communities in the city made her understand the remarkable transformation that could occur if all children were given the chance to realise their potential. She recalls meeting a girl named Sandhya in a large South Mumbai community, who was around her age at the time and generously offered her home. This space became a temporary classroom where she started teaching a small group of children, marking the humble beginnings of the Akanksha Foundation in 1989. She and other passionate college students dedicated their time and creatively utilized their limited resources to educate children living in the slums. It was through her work at Akanksha that she truly grasped the profound power of education and its capacity to alter lives. This understanding remains one of her most significant driving forces.