Maliha Masood was born in Karachi, Pakistan. She spent her childhood as a South Asian chameleon, strongly influenced by her mother's native Bombay, her father's South Indian heritage, a library of Enid Blyton books, and a Parsi all-girls school. Immigrating to the United States at the age of twelve, Maliha grew up as a Seattleite with a love of spicy curries, mountaineering and sailing. Fluent in her native Urdu and French, she studied International Business at the University of Washington and worked in business development and information technology before being lured to other callings.

An award-winning writer in creative nonfiction, Maliha's work has been featured internationally in Al-Ahram Weekly and Asia Times. Her essays have been anthologized in The Veil: Women Writers on its History, Lore and Politics, Voices of Resistance: Muslim Women on War, Faith and Sexuality, Waking up American and Bare your Soul: A Thinking Girl's Guide to Spirituality. Maliha co-wrote and appeared in Nazrah, a PBS aired documentary exploring gender, politics and Islam. She is the founder and president of The Diwaan Project, a Seattle-based cultural institute addressing Islam and Muslim world issues.

After spending a year in the Middle East, Maliha went on to graduate school at Tufts University and Harvard, earning a Master's in Law and Diplomacy in 2004. She then returned to Pakistan to work in conflict resolution at The International Crisis Group, before moving back to the Pacific Northwest where she makes her home.