Sherry Rehman

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Sherry Rehman bigraphy, stories - Pakistani diplomat

Sherry Rehman : biography

26 December 1960 –

Shehrbano "Sherry" Rehman (or Shahrbano Rahman, Urdu: شہر بانو رحمان; 21 December 1960), is a Pakistani politician, political journalist and diplomat.

Rehman was appointed the Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US on November 23, 2011 succeeding Husain Haqqani. Previously, she was the Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting from March 2008 until March 2009.

Political career

Rehman is a member of the Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP).

She served as an Member of the National Assembly (MNA) from 2002 to 2007, where she acted as Central Information Secretary. During this time, she was also President of Policy Planning for the PPPP and served on the party’s Foreign Relations Committee.

In March 2008, Rehman was re-appointed by declaration as MNA for Sindh province to the reserved MNA seat for women. Prime Minister Yusuf Gilani appointed her Minister for Information and Broadcasting, and on 31 March 2008 she was sworn in by President Pervez Musharraf.http://rediff.com.pk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=532:sherry-rahman&catid=76:high-profiles&Itemid=205

During her tenure in parliament, Rehman authored all five PPP bills tabled in the National Assembly: the Women Empowerment Bill, Anti-Honor Killings Bill, Domestic Violence Prevention Bill, Affirmative Action Bill and Hudood Repeal Bill. She also moved two bills concerning the media: the Freedom of Information Bill and the Press Act, which prevents working journalists from being arrested under the 1999 Press Ordinance.

In civil society, Rehman is the Chair of the Lady Dufferin Foundation Trust, reportedly the largest non-profit provider of women and children’s subsidised healthcare in the province of Sindh.

In January 2009, a report of the International Republican Institute referred to her as "Democracy’s Hero" as a result of her close association with former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s campaign for democratic rule in Pakistan. The reference, picked up by several Pakistani media outlets, received mixed coverage.http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Regional/Islamabad/07-Jan-2009/Sherry-Rehman-honoured-as-Democracys-Hero In the same month, Rehman was named among the "100 Most Influential Asians" by UAE magazine Ahlan.

Rehman resigned her post as Information Minister on 14 March 2009, due to differences of opinion with the President Asif Ali Zardari on imposing restrictions on the media.http://thenews.jang.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=20931

In 2013, Rehman was accused of commiting "blasphemy, a crime that carries the death penalty" in Pakistan, "in connection with a 2010 TV talk show." She was accused by Muhammad Faheem Gill, who went to the Pakistan "Supreme Court with his complaint after police refused to register it. The court ordered police in the central Pakistani city of Multan to investigate."

Diplomatic work

On 23 November 2011, she was named Pakistan’s ambassador to United States following the resignation of Hussain Haqqani, who was asked to resign by Prime Minister Gilani in the wake of the "Memogate" scandal.

Awards

  • 2002: First Pakistani to be recognised with an award for independent journalism by the UK House of Lords in its Muslim World Awards Ceremony in the year 2002
  • 2006: R.L Shep Ethnic Textiles Book Award, for The Kashmiri Shawl
  • 2008: Presented the International Peace Award for Democrats by the Human Rights Commission
  • 2009: The title of "Democracy’s Hero" by the International Republican Institute for her services to the restoration of democracy
  • 2009: ‘The Freedom Award’ Pakistan by the Association of Television Journalists for her work for media independence in Pakistan
  • 2011: Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Award by The Women’s Democracy Network (WDN), Washington

Biography

Born in Karachi, to a prominent Sindhi family, Rehman’s father Hassanally A. Rahman, was a lawyer and educator. Her mother served as vice president of the State Bank of Pakistan—the first woman to hold the post.

She attended Karachi Grammar School, Smith College and the University of Sussex where she studied art history and political science.

Rehman worked as a professional journalist for twenty years, writing for national and international newspapers and news magazines. She was editor-in-chief of Pakistan’s leading news magazine, The Herald, for ten years and served as a member of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) from 1988 to 1998. She also anchored a television show on current affairs in 1999.

Rehman was the first Pakistani to be recognised with an award for independent journalism by the British House of Lords in its Muslim World Awards Ceremony 2002.

She is married to banker Nadeem Hussain, who is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Tameer Microfinance Bank. She was previously married to Bari Mian, grandson of Abdul Bari Firangi Mahali. Prior to that, she was married to Ehsan Malik, who is currently the Chief Executive Office of Unilever Pakistan.

Published work

Rehman’s latest book The Kashmiri Shawl: From Jamawar to Paisley, co-authored with Naheed Jafri, was published in 2006 by Mapin Publishing India and Antique Collectors Club UK. The book was nominated for The R.L Shep Ethnic Textiles Book Award for 2006 in the US.http://www.textilesociety.org/awards_shep.htm "The Annual R. L. Shep Ethnic Textiles Book Award," www.textilesociety.org