DR. MALEEHA LODHI

Dr. Maleeha Lodhi, the sixteenth (now 19th?) Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States, comes to her calling with well-established credentials in the academic and journalistic fields. I have known her as a colleague and a friend for almost a decade, and have nothing but the most profound respect for her as a human being, a professional, an intellectual, as a diplomat and as someone I am proud to call friend.

Maleeha Lodhi obtained her Ph.D in Politics from the London School of Economics in 1980, having received her B.Sc (Econ) from the same institution in 1976. She taught Politics and Sociology at the London School of Economics for five years, 1980-85, before returning home to embark on what was to be a remarkable career in journalism. She also briefly taught for a year at the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, in the Department of Public Administration.

Maleeha Lodhi's journalistic career spanned eight years in which she edited two of Pakistan's major English daily newspapers- The News International, which she helped launch, and The Muslim. She became the first woman in all of Asia to be the editor of a daily paper. Her outspoken views and incisive analyses quickly took her to the very top of the profession as an outstanding professional as well as a crusader of democracy.

Dr. Maleeha Lodhi is a Fellow of the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics. In February 1994, she was cited for a top journalistic award by APNS (All Pakistan Newspaper Society) for a feature she had coauthored with a fellow Pakistani newsman.

Apart from contributing numerous research articles to journals of international repute, Ambassador Lodhi has published two books of her writings: Pakistan's Encounter with Democracy and The External Dimension Published in Pakistan in 1994.

In December 1994 she was selected (the only one from Pakistan) by Time magazine as one of the hundred global pacesetters or young leaders who the magazine said would help define the next century.

An article about her in the Washington Post gives a good idea of her work.

THE WASHINGTON POST

SATURDAY , AUGUST 3, 1996

Pakistan's 'dynamo' in Washington gains wide respect

By Fauzia Ahmed
THE WAHINGTON TIMES

Few women in Pakistan have managed to break the social barriers of society and step into the political arena. One of them is Maleeha Lodhi.
Mrs. Lodhi 42, who is from an urban professional middle class family, began her career as a professor at the London School of Economics and later gained recognition for her work as a journalist in Pakistan.
Today, she represents her country as the Ambassador to Washington.
Soft spoken , she sits in her traditional shalwar Kameez suit at her embassy surrounded by pictures of Benazir Bhutto the female Prime Minister of Pakistan, where she watches her staff of 110.
"People like me and Asma Jehangir [a human rights activist in Pakistan], coming from a middle class family, have a hard time in breaKng into the system. But when you do, people have hard time identifying with you," she said.

Women in South Asia, where societies are dominated by men, traditionally have grabbed the reins of political power either through their family or by taking the place of their assassinated husbands or fathers.
Others, Iike Mrs. Lodhi, have been thrust into leadership positions by their inner strength. She was selected by Time magazine in 1994 as one of the world's lO0 pace setters, who were tapped as key players in the coming years.
Sen. Hank Brown, Colorado Republican, said, "She's an absolute dynamo. They [Pakistan] couldn't have picked anyone with more energy and brighter mind. I am convinced much of the improvements between the two countries-the United States and Pakistan-is because of her and her incredible energy levels."
Mrs. Lodhi came to Washington at a critical time, when relations between her country and the United States had soured, in part because of U.S. allegations that Pakistan was developing nuclear weapons. She was driven to repair relations between the two countries and, in so doing, gained respect among the official community in Washington and Pakistan.

"I dont think I possess any extraordinary talent. I am pretty ordinary, but I do think that I had to work very hard. I feel if you have the capacity to work hard, then you can do much more," she said.
Mrs. Lodhi entered the political world while she was in London teaching politics and sociology at the London School of Economics when she started writing about the government of Mohammed Zia ul- Haq, the military dictator.
She got her first taste of journalism during that time and moved to Pakistan to make it her full-time profession. She worked as an editor for a daily English language newspaper, the Muslim, and later helped launch another English language paper, The News. She was there till 1993, when she accepted the offer of Mrs. Bhutto to represent Pakistan in 1994.
A close friend of Mrs. Lodhi's, Ahmad Rashid, described her:
"She has always been a workaholic since I can remember, which at times can cause problems for women because professional men don't expect women to be so driven in their careers. women in 'our' part of the world tend to be very thorough in their work because of the constant criticism they receive from their male countelparts," he said.
Mrs. Lodhi recalled her earlier years, when men would treat her condescendingly and lightly dismississ her work. It's easier for a woman to be recognized by the people by her surname if she belongs to an industrial or feudal land-based family compared with women from middle class families.
"If You show that you are very serious about your work, they [men] have no choice but to take you seriously by the end of the day," she said.
Nasim Ashraf, an active member of the Pakistani community, said, "We should have more women like her. Her biggest asset is she is extremely focused on what she does; she is a natural leader who brings out the best in her team."
The ambassador, divorced and the mother of a 17-year old son, said she was fortunate to have a supportive family who pushed her to go out to make a name for herself.
Her father was an executive of an oil company and her mother studied journalism. She achieved her graduate and doctoral degrees from the London School of Economics , where she taught for five years, and is the author of two books: "Pakistan's Encounter with Democracy" and "The External Dimensions."
Mrs. Lodhi wants to write another book on her experience in Washington and how policy making is carried out in Pakistan. She will be returning to Pakistan early next year.
"I like challenges" she said. "I move from one challenge to another. I have a problem when I have spare time on my hands. I don't know what to do with myself."