[1] She attended the American University of Beirut and completed her BA in 1959 and MA in Arab literature in 1965.
[2] Sharaf is chair of the Board of Trustees of Philadelphia University (Jordan) and Palestine International Institution, beside being a trustee of American University of Beirut, Noor Al Hussein Foundation, Arab Open University, Kuwait, American Center of Oriental Research, King Hussein Foundation, and Arab Thought Forum.
[2] On the request of King Hussein of Jordan, Sharaf joined the Cabinet as the nation's first Minister of Culture and Information in 1984.
Ten months later, however, she resigned after Hussein reprimanded the media for "exceeding the limits of reality, knowledge, and responsibility".
Her resignation was a bold move in a country where direct political opposition was not accepted and she was cited as "the only man in the Cabinet".