Salma M. Waheedi is a Clinical Instructor and Lecturer on Law at the Human Rights Program, where she is also the Associate Director of the Program on Law and Society in the Muslim World.
Salma’s work focuses primarily on the Middle East and North Africa region. In the International Human Rights Clinic, she supervises and trains students on legal and policy advocacy projects with a focus on accountability and the rule of law, gender justice, business and human rights, and economic and social rights. Her research interests include comparative constitutional law, family law, and Islamic law in contemporary societies.
Salma practiced international commercial law and corporate compliance law and advised various government and private sector entities on anti-corruption measures, foreign investment regulatory frameworks, land management, social welfare policies, and gender equality. Before joining the legal profession, she served as Director of Economic Planning and Development at the Economic Development Board of her native country Bahrain. In that role, she developed and managed economic reform projects focused on public sector restructuring, economic diversification, and private sector growth and helped shape key national economic and social policies. She also held positions as an international trade negotiator, management consultant in the energy sector, and Middle East political researcher and analyst.
She received her BA in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and her JD with honors from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. She also holds an MA in Government and International Law from Georgetown University and an MA in International Affairs (Middle East) from American University. She is a member of the New York State Bar and is fluent in Arabic and speaks Italian and French.
