Judith Ahmed's father was in the British army, so her family moved frequently. After living in England, where Judith was born, they moved to Scotland, where she started school, and then to Singapore and Germany, where she went to boarding school. Judith's first poem, influenced by Keat's 'Ode to Autumn', was published in the school magazine in 1960. When the family moved to France, Judith attended the English School of Paris, but completed her education in England.
In 1966 the family emigrated to Australia and settled in Adelaide, where Judith worked in the Department of Social Security. In 1968 she married and had a daughter and a son. She graduated from Flinders University with a BA in English and Drama in 1978 and completed a Dip Ed in 1979.
In 1981 Judith travelled to Minna, Niger State, Nigeria, to teach English at a Government Girls' School. During this time, she made friends with Muslims and noticed the different lifestyle around her. She married again in 1984 and converted to Islam. In 1985 she moved to Bida to teach at a boys' school, and during this period another son was born.
In Nigeria Judith joined a writing circle of members of the Federation of FOMWAN, Muslim Women in Nigeria, and helped to edit their magazine The Muslim Woman, in which she also had articles, short stories and poems published.
In 1988 Judith spent time in Australia, where her twins were born, and after another stay in Nigeria, returned to Australia in 1993 where she taught, as well as gaining her Advanced Diploma in Writing and studying Islamic calligraphy. Returning once more to Nigeria, Judith continued to edit and write for The Muslim Woman, and helped to edit school magazines. She and her family returned to Australia in 2001.
Judith writes on both sacred and secular themes, her poetry reflecting her adopted faith of Islam.
