Rooha Variava was born in Pietersburg, South Africa on the 16 December 1958. She completed a BA degree in Philosophy and Arabic at the University of South Africa in 1979. Variava finished her Honours degree in Philosophy in 1981 and her Masters in Philosophy in 1982 at the University of the Witwatersrand. While at the University of the Witwatersrand she also taught and organised seminars in the Department of Philosophy.
