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

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

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

Bellevue, Washington Bellevue ( ) is a city in the Eastside (King County, Washington), 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 the f ...

. 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 and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

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 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. Fletcher is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations. As of 2017, the student b ...

, at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

, and at

Harvard Kennedy School The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, 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'' (; ), founded on 5 August 1876, is the most widely circulating Egyptian daily newspaper, and the second-oldest after '' Al-Waqa'i' al-Misriyya'' (''The Egyptian Events'', founded 1828). It is majority owned by the Egyptian governm ...

'', ''

Asia Times ''Asia Times'' (), formerly known as ''Asia Times Online'', is a Hong Kongbased 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 broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

. 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, activist, and television personality. His travel philosophy encourages people to explore less-frequented areas of destinations and ...

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

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

. Masood briefly worked in Pakistan at the

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

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, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

{{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