[1] She, along with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Samar Minallah, are some of the Pakistani women independent documentary filmmakers to have screened their work outside of Pakistan.
When Sumar was growing up, her parents hosted many social gatherings that included Sufi poetry, music and liquor.
[3] Sumar studied Persian Literature at the University of Karachi,[3] followed by Filmmaking and Political Science at Sarah Lawrence College in New York from 1980–83.
[2] Sabiha Sumar has earned acclaim for her independent films, which deal with political and social issues such as the effects of religious fundamentalism on society, and especially on women.
Sumar's main interest has been on addressing primarily Pakistani women's place in the world and how different aspects of society have affected them over the past several decades.
Sumar's first documentary, Who Will Cast the First Stone, deals with the state of three women in prison in Pakistan under the Hudood Ordinances.
Her documentary films include Don't Ask Why (1999), For a Place Under the Heavens (2003), On the roofs of Delhi (2007), and Dinner with the President: A Nation's Journey (2007).
Khamosh Pani is a fictional film that looks at religion, gender, honour killings, assault, trauma and colonialism in the wake of partition.
[5] Sumar continues in the tradition of Partition cinema, among the likes of Deepa Mehta, Kamal Hasan, and Chadraprakash Dwivdei.
[5] Sumar received funding for Khamosh Pani from a number of international sources, including France, Switzerland, Germany, and Sweden.