Maliha Masood is a Pakistani-American writer. She was born 1971 in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

, Pakistan. She moved to the United States in 1982 and grew up in

Bellevue, Washington Bellevue ( ) is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, located across Lake Washington from Seattle. It is the third-largest city in the Seattle metropolitan area and has variously been characterized as a s ...

. Masood is a writer in creative nonfiction and the author of two travel memoirs, ''Zaatar Days, Henna Nights'' (Seal Press/2007). and ''Dizzy In Karachi'' (Booktrope Editions/2013).

Early life and education

Masood was born in

in 1971 and studied international business at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

and worked as a research analyst in the information technology sector for six years before turning towards writing. Masood was a resident artist with Seattle Arts and Lectures Writers in the Schools Program during 2007 and a guest instructor in the Political Science Department at

Edmonds Community College Edmonds College, formerly Edmonds Community College, is a public community college in Lynnwood, Washington. More than 17,000 students annually take courses for credit toward a certificate or degree at the college. The college employs more than 1 ...

in the spring of 2009. Masood also provides workshops and seminars through her nonprofit collective, The Diwaan Project, a grassroots initiative on global affairs. She did her graduate studies at the

Fletcher School The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. The School is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations and is well-ranked in its ...

, at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

, and at

Harvard Kennedy School The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, earning a master's degree in Law and Diplomacy in May 2004.

Career

Selected for the Jack Straw Foundation writers forum in 2005, Masood's writings on women, culture and Islam have been featured in ''

Al-Ahram ''Al-Ahram'' ( ar, الأهرام; ''The Pyramids''), founded on 5 August 1875, is the most widely circulating Egyptian daily newspaper, and the second oldest after '' al-Waqa'i`al-Masriya'' (''The Egyptian Events'', founded 1828). It is majori ...

'', ''

Asia Times ''Asia Times'' (), formerly known as ''Asia Times Online'', is a Hong Kong-based English language news media publishing group, covering politics, economics, business, and culture from an Asian perspective. ''Asia Times'' publishes in English and ...

'', and the anthologies ''Voices of Resistance: Muslim Women on War, Faith and Sexuality'', ''Waking up American'' and ''Bare your Soul: A Thinking Girl's Guide to Spirituality''. Masood appeared in and co-wrote a documentary film, ''Nazrah: A Muslim Woman's Perspective'' that aired on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

. She was featured on the show ''Travel with

Rick Steves Richard John Steves Jr. (born May 10, 1955), known professionally as Rick Steves, is an American travel writer, author, activist, and television personality. His travel philosophy encourages people to explore less-touristy areas of destination ...

'' ''Program 147a: Outsiders in the Muslim World''
/ref> on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

. Masood briefly worked in Pakistan at the

International Crisis Group The International Crisis Group (ICG; also known as the Crisis Group) is a transnational non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 1995. It is a think tank, used by policymakers and academics, performing research and analysis on global ...

and the

Human Rights Commission A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights. The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...

before moving back to the Pacific Northwest.

References

External links

Maliha Masood
at

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Masood, Maliha 1971 births Living people 21st-century American women writers American travel writers American women travel writers Harvard Kennedy School alumni Pakistani emigrants to the United States The Fletcher School at Tufts University alumni University of Washington alumni Writers from Kirkland, Washington Writers from Seattle