Dr Mariya Ali

BA Social Work, MA International Child Welfare, PHD Human Rights

Visiting Knowledge Exchange Fellow

Department of Psychology, Health and Professional Development

Role

Dr Mariya Ali is a Visiting Knowledge Exchange Fellow.

She has filled social work, theraputic, research and policy making roles both in governmental and non-governmental agencies, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF, and Save the Children Asia.

Mariya served as the Deputy Minister for Health and Family in the Maldives from 2009-2011, holding the portfolio of gender and social services. She was then appointed as an Under Secretary of the Policy Office, at the Office of the President of the Maldives focusing on social policy in 2011.  

As a governing board member from the Maldives to the South Asia Initiative to Ending Violence Against Children (SAIEVAC), Dr Ali played an instrumental role facilitating the successful transition of this South Asian mechanism into a permanent regional institution in 2011.  

She served as Chief of Child Protection from 2016-2018 for the Charity Shaftesbury Young People (before the Charity was dissolved) where she was responsible for child welfare and safeguarding for 5 programmes run across England.

Areas of expertise

She specialises in:

  • children's rights
  • trauma
  • protecting child sexual abuse victims under Shari'a.

Publications

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Professional information

Memberships of professional bodies

  • Registered Social Worker with Social Work England
  • Advisory Board Member of Child Redress

Conferences

Dr Ali actively contribute to conferences in her area of expertise. Recent examples include:

  • ALI, M. (22 July 2019). What's Love Got to Do With It? Creating Psychologically Safe Space in the Workplace, International Women Empowerment Events, Bandos Conference Centre, Maldives.
  • ALI, M. (8 April 2019). Adversity Gives Birth to Creativity, Wise Choices Careers Day, Brunel University
  • ALI, M. (27 June 2018), The Dream Team: Compassion in the Workplace, Lunch Time Talks, Cabinet Office Government Digital Service, The White Chapel Building, London.
  • ALI, M. (2017). Strengthening Praxis through Global Partnering for Separated Siblings in Care, CREATE Foundation, International Convention Centre, Sydney, 12 August.
  • CLARK, B. & ALI, M. (2016). Separated Siblings in Public Care: Do Legal Principe and Practice Concord?, SLSA Annual Conference, Lancaster University, 6 April.
  • ALI, M. (2016). Opportunity to be Bother and Sister, Lecture Post Graduate Students School of Social Work, Oxford Brookes University, 23 March.
  • ALI, M. (2016). Working with Muslim Clients, Lecture, Oxford Brookes University, 28 January to Graduating BA Social Work Studentsand 23 March to Post Graduate Students School of Social Work.

Consultancy

  • International Consultant for UNICEF since 2006
  • Adam Smith International since 2021

Further details

Podcasts and online interviews: