Ruqayyah Ahmed Rufa'i (an haife ta a shekara ta 1958) an nada ta a matsayin Ministan Ilimi na Najeriya a ranar 6 ga Afrilun 2010,lokacin da mukaddashin shugaban kasa Goodluck Jonathan ya sanar da sabuwar majalisar ministocinsa. Rufai an haife ta ne a garin Ringim a jihar Jigawa, Ta sami digirin digirgir ne a fannin tarihi daga jami'ar Bayero, Kano a 1981, MA ce a tarihi daga wannan jami'a a 1987 da PhD a Ilimi daga Jami'ar West Virginia, Amurka, a 1991 . Ta kasance Kwamishinan Lafiya a karkashin mulkin soja na Janar Sani Abacha tsakanin 1993 zuwa 1996. An bunkasa ta a matsayin farfesa a 2003, kuma ta yi aiki a matsayin Kwamishinan Ilimi, Kimiyya da Fasaha a jihar Jigawa . Ta ce a koyaushe tana jin kunyar idan ta fuskanci kalubale na karancin rajistar ‘ya mace a Jihar Jigawa, kuma da wahala ta bayyana dalilin da ya sa jihar ba za ta iya samun karin girlsan mata a makarantun ba.Ta dakatar da amfani da wayoyin hannu a makarantun sakandare saboda tasirin rikicewar su..