Seema Mustafa was born in Delhi on April 20, 1955. She graduated with a BA in Political Science from Lucknow University in Uttar Pradesh. Seema's father Lt Col Syed Mustafa was in the Indian Army and she is related to the socialist freedom fighter Rafi Ahmed Kidwai from her mother's side. Rajya Sabha MP Anis Kidwai was her grandmother from her mother's side. Seema has two elder brothers, SP 'Bobby' Mustafa, Hindustan Unilever Ltd’s group treasurer and head of M&A , and Kamal Mustafa, now retired but once the Managing Director & Head of Global Mergers and Acquisitions for Citybank.She was married to a businessman from Delhi, and is now divorced with two children, Gayeti Singh and Agneya Singh, both attending college.

Seema Mustafa began her journalist career in Lucknow with the Pioneer before becoming the only woman journalist with the Patriot in 1979. Later she also worked for many major newspapers, including The Telegraph and Indian Express before joining The Asian Age in 1997.

She has received several journalistic awards, including the prestigious "Prem Bhatia Award for Excellence in Political Reporting and Analysis" in 1999 for her coverage of the Kargil war in May—July 1999.http://www.xignite.com/xWorldNews.aspx?articleid=SAF20060630083001

Seema Mustafa left the Asian Age in 2008 and is currently Editor of covert_magazine, a fortnightly political magazine. She is also editor of an online anti-establishment, free press inititiative called The Front Page (www.thefrontpage.in). This initiative is read by 2,500 active readers daily. It is updated twice every week.The site has received the BEST NEWS Startup award from MEDIA INITIATIVE FORUM

Seema has been noted to have a characteristic leftist and socialist view point. Many of her articles criticise government policy, and generally reflect pro-minority, secular and feminist slants. She has lashed out at many influential sections of the political spectrum. She has defended Indian Muslims against the charge of being anti-national and pro-Pakistani.

Seema was a member of VP Singh's Janata Dal party and is said to be closely associated with him. The fact that she wrote his biography seems to strengthen this assertion. She has apparently contested UP Assembly Elections under the Janata Dal Ticket.

She contested the Lok Sabha General elections twice from Domariaganj in Uttar Pradesh, once as an Independent in 1996 and previously as a member of Indian Congress - Sarat Chandra Sinha (ICS(SCS)) (a break away faction of the Congress ) in 1991 and lost both times, coming 10th and 4th respectively.

Lately, she has been linked to the Communist Party of India (CPI(M)) on the issue of opposing the Government of India's stance on the anti-Iran vote in the International Atomic Energy Agency to appease the USA. She is part of the CPI(M) Committee to Campaign for an Independent Foreign Policy.

Of late, she has written actively in opposition to the Indo-US Nuclear Agreement.