Dr. Zarina Sani was born on July 5, 1936 in Nagpur. Her father Abdul Rahim (Chakkiwala) was a thinker of the progressive movement. At a time when education for girls was considered insignificant, he insisted on making his daughters receive formal education. Zarina had a penchant for writing since she was a student. At the age of 16, her first story was published in the monthly Bano from New Delhi.

She completed her matriculation from Government Girls High School, Nagpur in 1953. At 17, she was married to Abdul Halim. Initially, she used to write under the pen-name ‘Zaari’, but later changed it to ‘Sani’.

Zareena holds a BA and double MA in Urdu and Persian from Nagpur University. Afterward, she completed her PH.D. on the research paper "Seemab Ki Nazm Nigaari", under the supervision of Dr. Syed Rafi-ud-Din. After passing her BA in 1958, she joined LAD College as a temporary teacher and only two years later, she became the head of the Department of Urdu.

Her works include, ‘Urdu Shairi Ki Hindustani Rooh (1967)’, ‘Seemab Ki Nazmiya Shairi (1978)’, ‘BuDHa Darakht (1979), and ‘Safdar Aah: Ba-haisiyat-e-Shair (1979). Her last book, ‘Aaina-e-Ghazal’, co-authored with Dr. Vinay Waekar, was published after her death in 1983. In addition to poetry, she has written several short stories, including "Qusuur Apna Nikal Aaya", ‘Baadal Tere Sitam Ka’, ‘Aurat Ki Khud-daari’, ‘Khayal Apna Apna’, ‘Mujrim-e-Zamir’, ‘Ek Kiran Ujale Ki’, and ‘PhaaTak’. Her writings have been published in several magazines in Pakistan and the United Kingdom, in addition to India.
Zareena wrote all forms of poetry; Ghazals, Nazms, free verse Nazms, and even free verse Ghazals. During her lifetime, no collection of her poems could be published, but enlivening her, her daughter-in-law Swati Sani launched a website in her name. She was awarded by the Urdu Academies of both Maharashtra and Bihar, and, commemorating her, a special issue was published in 2012 by the journal "Shayar" from Mumbai. Aged just 45, she passed away on 14th January 1982.