Ivy Nallammah Josiah is a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

and

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. She has been a pioneer in setting up the

Women's Aid Organisation Women's Aid Organisation (WAO) is a Malaysian non-governmental organisation that fights for women's rights and specifically against violence against women. It was founded in 1982 and continues to play a leading role in the Malaysian women's right ...

that provides help and refuge to women fleeing from

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

in Malaysia.

Early life

Josiah was born in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

and grew up in

Brickfields A brickfield is an open site where bricks are made. Place names are often formed from the word. Brickfield, Brickfields or Brickfielder may specifically refer to: Australia *Brickfielder, an arid wind * Brickfield Hill, an area of Sydney *Brickfie ...

. Her parents were originally from

Jaffna Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

but her father came to Malaysia to work for the colonial government. Eventually, Josiah's father returned home to Jaffna, married Josiah's mother and moved back to Malaysia.

Career

For more than 15 years, Josiah was Executive Director of the

(WAO), a Malaysian organisation which helps abused women and children. Through her contributions, Josiah has been described as helping to "put domestic violence on the national agenda". When Josiah started working with WAO, she saw it as a way to eliminate discrimination in her own life saying, "I never saw it as charity work. It's activism." She was introduced to WAO through Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, a lawyer and human rights advocate who was her friend in

Convent Bukit Nanas S.M.K. Convent Bukit Nanas (abbreviated CBN) is an all-girls school located at Bukit Nanas, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest schools in Malaysia and is widely known as CBN. Convent Bukit Nanas is one of the f ...

. In 2004–5, she served on the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operation and Management of the

Royal Malaysia Police The Royal Malaysia Police (often abbreviated RMP) ( ms, Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM)), is a (primarily) uniformed national and federal police force in Malaysia. The force is a centralised organisation. Its headquarters are located at Bukit Aman ...

and criticised the Emergency Ordinance. In 2017, Josiah was still active in many types of civil and political rights causes including volunteering with Bersih, the Human Rights Society of Malaysia, and PROHAM (Society for the Promotion of Human Rights), for whom she is the secretary-general.

Personal life

In 2016, Josiah was also planning on embarking on a creative project with Five Arts Centre founder Marion D'Cruz, a dancer and choreographer, and Mac Chan, a lighting designer.

References

{{reflist, , refs= {{Cite web , url=https://www.newtactics.org/users/ivy-josiah, title=IVY JOSIAH {{! New Tactics in Human Rights , website=www.newtactics.org , language=en , access-date=10 March 2017 {{Cite web , url=http://3age.com.my/2016/03/07/ivy-josiah-still-fighting-for-civil-rights/ , title=Ivy Josiah still fighting for civil rights , date=7 March 2016 , website=3Age , access-date=10 March 2017 , url-status=dead , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161104155951/http://3age.com.my/2016/03/07/ivy-josiah-still-fighting-for-civil-rights/ , archivedate=4 November 2016 , df=dmy-all {{Cite web , url=http://www.thenutgraph.com/learning-to-be-unproper/ , title=Learning to be “unproper” {{! The Nut Graph , website=www.thenutgraph.com , access-date=10 March 2017 {{cite web , title=100 memorable Malaysian women , newspaper=The Star , date=8 March 2011 , url=http://www.thestar.com.my/travel/malaysia/2011/03/08/100-memorable-malaysian-women/ , access-date=8 March 2017 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180829153743/https://www.thestar.com.my/travel/malaysia/2011/03/08/100-memorable-malaysian-women/ , archive-date=29 August 2018 , url-status=dead {{citation , title=Convicted Before Trial: Indefinite Detention Under Malaysia's Emergency Ordinance , volume=18 , number=9 , work=Human Rights Watch , year=2006 {{cite news , url=http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/04/28/chew-women-candidates-want-level-playing-field-dont-only-pick-us-to-contest-in-the-difficulttowin-se/ , newspaper=

The Star ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, accessdate=3 May 2017 , date=28 April 2017 , title=Chew: Women candidates want level playing field Malaysian women activists Malaysian people of Sri Lankan Tamil descent Malaysian schoolteachers Malaysian people of Indian descent People from Kuala Lumpur Malaysian women's rights activists Year of birth missing (living people)