Janet Karim

Last updated
Janet Karim
Janet Zeenat Karim .jpg
Janet Karim in 2019
Born
Janet Mbekeani

1954 (age 6970)
NationalityMalawian
Occupation(s)Journalist and diplomat

Janet Zeenat Karim (born 1954) is a Malawian journalist and diplomat. The founder of the publications Woman Now and the Independent, Karim is one of only a handful of well-known female writers in the country. She served in the Permanent Mission of Malawi to the United Nations from 2007 to 2015.

Contents

Early life and education

Janet Karim was born Janet Mbekeani in 1954. [1] Her father was Wales Nyemba Mbekeani, a diplomat who served as Malawi's envoy to the United Nations. [2] [3] Due to her father's career, she spent a significant portion of her childhood in New York, where she graduated from Scarsdale High School in 1972. [4]

Karim returned to Malawi, where she received her bachelor's degree from the University of Malawi in 1979. [1] [2]

She later received a master's degree in global development and social justice from St. John's University in 2014. [5]

Career

Karim started her career teaching at public schools in Malawi, but after failing to complete a master's degree at London School of Economics, she instead embarked on a career in journalism. She began writing for the Malawi Daily Times, then the only newspaper at the country. She then became an editor at the Times' sister publication, Malawi News. [4]

After leaving Malawi News, Karim founded and served as editor of Woman Now magazine, the first women's magazine in the country. [4] [5] In 1993, she also founded the newspaper the Independent. Karim and her peers had developed a complex understanding of how to navigate the country's censorship rules during the one-party era, which eased the way for her to start her own publications. Later on, the Independent often voiced opposition to the policies of the new ruling government. [2] [6]

Karim also founded the Malawi Media Women's Association, among other professional media organizations. Through the women's media organization, she helped establish Dzimwe Community Radio, with assistance from UNESCO and later USAID. [2] [5] [7]

Alongside her work as a journalist, Karim became an activist and advocate for women's rights and safety. She was also active in the Society of Women Living With AIDS. [2] [8] She spoke out in favor of including women in the media, saying in 1998, "The African media cannot go into the 21st century hopping on one leg. Women must be partners in the future of Africa." [9]

In lamenting the lack of women in Malawi's literary sphere in 2013, the president of the Malawi Writers Union identified Karim as one of only a handful of well-known women writers in the country, alongside Emily Mkamanga and Walije Gondwe. [10]

From 2007 to 2015, Karim was appointed to serve in the Permanent Mission of Malawi to the United Nations, where her father once served as ambassador. [2] [5] At the U.N., she worked on social, cultural, and human rights issues, representing the country at UNICEF and other bodies. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bingu wa Mutharika</span> President of Malawi from 2004 to 2012

Bingu wa Mutharika was a Malawian politician and economist who was President of Malawi from May 2004 until his death in April 2012. He was also President of the Democratic Progressive Party, which he founded in February 2005; it obtained a majority in Malawi's parliament in the 2009 general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joyce Banda</span> President of Malawi from 2012 to 2014

Joyce Hilda Banda is a Malawian politician, who served as President of Malawi, from 7 April 2012 to 31 May 2014. Banda took office as President following the sudden death of President Bingu wa Mutharika. She is the founder and leader of the People's Party, created in 2011. An educator and grassroots women's rights activist, she was the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2006 to 2009 and the Vice-President of Malawi from May 2009 to April 2012. She has served in various roles as a member of Parliament and as Minister of Gender and Child Welfare before she became the President of the Republic of Malawi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angie Brooks</span> Liberian diplomat and jurist

Angie Elizabeth Brooks was a Liberian diplomat and jurist. She was the only African female President of the United Nations General Assembly. She was also the second woman from any nation to head the U.N. body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naela Chohan</span> Ambassador of Pakistan, feminist artist (born 1958)

Naela Chohan is a Pakistani ambassador, artist and diplomat. As a seasoned and veteran diplomat, ambassador Chohan has assumed a leadership position in eight different Pakistani diplomatic missions on five different continents. Naela Chohan is a hyperpolyglot with demonstrable fluency in seven Indo-European languages including Persian, French, and Spanish.

Joy Uche Angela Ogwu is a former foreign minister of Nigeria and a former permanent representative of Nigeria to the United Nations in New York from 2008–2017. She is the first woman to hold the post of Permanent Representative to the United Nations from Nigeria. Prior to her ministerial career, Ogwu, who is from Delta State, served as Director–General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA).

Lila Hanitra Ratsifandrihamanana is a Malagasy politician and diplomat. Ratsifandrihamanana was the Minister of Scientific Research from 1997 to 1998 and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1998 to 2002. Ratsifandrihamanana resigned on February 27, 2002, amidst the political crisis that followed the December 2001 presidential election, because, according to her spokesperson, "she was personally in favour of comparing reports" regarding the electoral controversy. She then became ambassador to Senegal in 2002. In 2007 she became Permanent Representative of the African Union, Permanent Observer Mission of the African Union to the United Nations in New York. In 2009, she joined the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), as the Director of the Liaison Office with the UN in New York.

David Rubadiri was a Malawian diplomat, academic and poet, playwright and novelist. Rubadiri is ranked as one of Africa's most widely anthologized and celebrated poets to emerge after independence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Percy Kachipande</span> Malawian politician, diplomat (born 1944)

Safiel Percy Kachipande is a Malawian politician and former diplomat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nancy Tembo</span> Malawian politician

Nancy Gladys Tembo is a Malawian politician and serves as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Malawi Government since 2022. She is also a Member of Parliament (MP) representing Lilongwe City South West constituency in the National Assembly of the Republic of Malawi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sylvia Stanfield</span> American diplomat

Sylvia Gaye Stanfield is an American former diplomat who served in a variety of political and economic posts in the diplomatic corps before becoming the nation's first African-American woman Ambassador to Brunei (1999–2002).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne Anderson (diplomat)</span> Former Ambassador of Ireland (born 1952)

Anne Anderson is a former Irish diplomat. She was the 17th Ambassador of Ireland to the United States. She has also been Ambassador of Ireland to the United Nations, the European Union, France, and Monaco, the first woman to hold each of these positions.

Talyn Rahman-Figueroa; is a British diplomatic consultant and chief executive officer and founder of Grassroot Diplomat. Rahman-Figueroa was born and brought up in London, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quarraisha Abdool Karim</span>

Quarraisha Abdool Karim is an infectious diseases epidemiologist and co-founder and Associate Scientific Director of CAPRISA. She is a Professor in Clinical Epidemiology, Columbia University, New York and Pro-Vice Chancellor for African Health, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Walije Gondwe is a writer who was the first Malawian woman novelist to have her work published. Most of her books are young adult fiction published in the 1980s and 1990s. She now runs an educational charity, Vinjeru.

Emily Lilly Mkamanga was a Malawian writer and social commentator. She was one of the few well-known female writers in Malawi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ikponwosa Ero</span> Nigerian lawyer and advocate (born 1981)

Ikponwosa "I.K." Lauretta Ero is a lawyer and advocate in the field of international human rights. She is the first United Nations Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism. Ero was a key player in drawing global attention to the human rights issues faced by people with albinism worldwide, particularly in the region of Africa where they were being attacked for their body parts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A. H. S. Ataul Karim</span> Bangladeshi diplomat

A. H. S. Ataul Karim was a Bangladesh diplomat, foreign secretary, and former Ambassador of Bangladesh to the United States. He was also a Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations.

Fulata Lusungu Mbano Moyo is a Malawian systematic and feminist theologian who is an advocate for gender justice. Moyo has written over twenty-eight journal articles.

Angel Mbekeani, best known as Sangie, is a Malawian reggae artist and songwriter. In 2015, she won as the best female artist of the year in UMP Awards. In 2016 and 2019, she was nominated in the same awards in Best Female Artist of the Year. In 2017, she won in the same awards in Best Female Act.

References

  1. 1 2 Des femmes écrivent l'Afrique, L'Afrique de l'Est (in French). Owusu-Sarpong, Christiane, (1954- ...).,, Impr. Laballery). Paris: Éd. Karthala. 2010. ISBN   978-2-8111-0410-8. OCLC   758762311.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kalinga, Owen J. M. (2012). Historical dictionary of Malawi (4th ed.). Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press. ISBN   978-0-8108-7531-9. OCLC   828424320.
  3. "Former Ambassadors". The Permanent Mission of Republic of Malawi to the United Nations. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Garcia-Amaya, Ricardo (2013-10-27). "Janet Karim (SHS 1972)". Scarsdale Alumni Association. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Simutowe, Yamikani (2015-07-07). "Armed robbers attack ex-diplomat to UN Janet Karim, MRA official in Blantyre". Nyasa Times. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
  6. Lwanda, John (2002). "Paper Tigers: The Rise and Fall of the Independent Media in Malawi, 19612001". The Society of Malawi Journal. 55 (1): 1–23. ISSN   0037-993X. JSTOR   29779083 via JSTOR.
  7. "Malawi: Getting the Views of Rural Women on the Air". Pambazuka News. 2002-01-17. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
  8. Chirambo, Reuben Makayiko (2009). "Democracy as a Limiting Factor for Politicised Cultural Populism in Malawi". Africa Spectrum. 44 (2): 77–94. doi: 10.1177/000203970904400204 . ISSN   0002-0397. JSTOR   40607812. S2CID   55652207 via JSTOR.
  9. "IWMF Opens African Women's Media Center". Media Report to Women. 26 (1). Winter 1998. JSTOR   community.28040703 via JSTOR.
  10. Sundu, Yvonnie (2013-09-26). "Mawu Decries Poor Women Participation". The Nation. Retrieved 2020-11-05.