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Ms
Sherry Rehman is a
senior Pakistani politician,
journalist, parliamentarian
and the member of
the Pakistan Peoples
Party. Born in Karachi,
she has studied art,
history and politics
at Smith College Massachusetts,
US; and at the University
of Sussex, UK.
Sherry Rehman has
been a professional
journalist for twenty
years. She has served
as Editor of Pakistan’s
prestigious newsmagazine,
Herald, for ten years.
She has wide experience
in both print and
broadcast media. Her
bold and creative
journalistic style
earned her ranking
among the top journalists
of the country. She
has also anchored
a television show
on current affairs
in 1999. Sherry Rehman
regularly writes for
national and international
newspapers and newsmagazine.
In March 2008, Sherry
Rehman was declared
re-elected Member
of the National Assembly
as PPP candidate from
the Sindh province
on the list for reserved
seats for women. Previous
to this she was an
MNA from 2002 to 2007
and Central Information
Secretary as well
as President of Policy
Planning of the Pakistan
Peoples Party. Her
interests in the National
Assembly include foreign
and security policy,
women’s status
and rights legislation,
and media policies.
In the National Assembly,
Rehman has served
as Convener of the
Parliamentary Sub-Committee
on Media and Public
Diplomacy for Kashmir
and Member of the
Special Parliamentary
Committee on Kashmir,
and Foreign Relations
Committee in PPP.
During her five years
in the parliament,
Sherry Rehman moved
a number of bills
related to media freedom,
women’s empowerment
and human rights.
She is the architect
of all the five PPP
bills tabled in the
National Assembly:
Women Empowerment
Bill, Anti-Honor Killings
Bill, Domestic Violence
Prevention Bill, Affirmative
Action Bill and Hudood
Repeal Bill. She also
moved two Bills for
the Media: the Freedom
of Information Bill
and the Press Act,
which prevents working
journalists from being
arrested under the
1999 Press Ordinance.
She was leader of
Pakistan delegation
at the Asian Parliamentarians’
Conference in December
2004 for the Islamabad
Declaration Committee.
Earlier she has had
the privilege of representing
Pakistan at the UN
General Assembly session
in 1994. She has also
lectured at the School
of Advanced International
Studies at John Hopkins
University in November
2004.
She served as a member
of the Council of
Pakistan Newspaper
Editors (CPNE) from
1988-1998. She also
headed the team that
prepared the PPP Manifesto
for the 2008 elections.
In civil society,
Sherry Rehman has
been an active proponent
for the provision
of better access to
health and educational
resources, particularly
for women and children
from the lower-income
sections of Pakistani
society. She is the
Chairman of the Lady
Dufferin Foundation
Trust, the largest
non-profit provider
of women and children’s
subsidized health-care
in the province of
Sindh.
Sherry Rehman’s
latest book “The
Kashmiri Shawl: From
Jamawar to Paisley”,
that she co-authored
with Ms Naheed Jafri,
was published in 2006.
The book has been
selected for R.L Shep
Ethnic Textiles Book
Award for 2006, in
the US. Ms Rehman
will receive her award
at the 11th Beinnial
Symposium of the Textile
Society of America,
in Hawai, in September
2008.
Sherry Rehman is the
first Pakistani to
be recognized with
an award for independent
journalism by the
UK House of Lords
in its Muslim World
Awards Ceremony in
the year 2002.
Sherry Rehman is married
to renowned banker
Nadeem Hussain who
is the President and
Chief Executive Officer
of Tameer Microfinance
Bank.
Sherry Rehman was
sworn in as Federal
Minister for Information
and Broadcasting on
Mar 31, 2008.
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