Mariam Issa is a human rights activist, focused on supporting the rights of refugees and developing the strengths and confidence of women in Australia and Africa.
Mariam arrived in Melbourne from her Somali homeland in 1988 with her husband, four children and a fifth on the way, and continued to draw experience from an oral culture of storytelling.
The Australian government settled her and her family into the largely Anglo-Saxon bayside suburb of Brighton in Melbourne, Australia. There, Mariam cofounded RAW-Resilient Aspiring Women in 2012, a not-for-profit organisation focused on building community and social spaces for women to connect in.
Through her work with R.A.W. Mariam has touched the lives of many women and facilitated many compassionate conversations. Her insights inspire many women to find their strengths, confidence and personal power.
She launched her autobiography, A Resilient Life, in 2012, and continued to share her experience and commitment to improving refugee's lives by sitting on the board of Asylum Seekers Resource Centre, serving as an ambassador for Refugee Council of Australia and a Director at Family Peace.
