Mariya Taher

March 1, 2023
Site Developer

Mariya has worked in gender-based violence for over a decade in teaching, research, policy, program development, and direct service. She began her career working at domestic violence organizations such as Asian Women’s Shelter and W.O.M.A.N., Inc., Jane Doe Inc and Saheli. In 2015, she cofounded Sahiyo, an award-winning, transnational organization with the mission to empower Asian and other communities to end female genital cutting (FGC). In 2018, Mariya received the Human Rights Storytellers Award from the Muslim American Leadership Alliance for her innovative approach to using storytelling to engage communities in abandoning FGC. Mariya has been instrumental in bringing FGM/C to the forefront in the U.S., sitting on the steering committee for the US End FGM/C Network and as of 2021 serving as an expert consultant for the Department Of Justice – Office of Victims of Crime Addressing Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting technical assistance project. In 2022, she also served as program strategist for SOAR’s transformative storytelling project for South Asian survivors of gender-based violence. Mariya is also an extensive writer and has contributed articles and stories to NPR, HuffPost, The Fair Observer, Brown Girl Magazine, Solstice Literary Magazine, The Express Tribune, The San Francisco Examiner, and more. She graduated with her MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University and holds a Master in Social Work from San Francisco State University and a B.A. from UC Santa Barbara in Religious Studies.