[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.

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.

Through the women's media organization, she helped establish Dzimwe Community Radio, with assistance from UNESCO and later USAID.

[2][5] At the U.N., she worked on social, cultural, and human rights issues, representing the country at UNICEF and other bodies.