Mavis Ramazani is a Sheroes Global Award winner, a nominee for the Black and Irish awards and a multi-award winner in the fields of justice, integration, community and inclusion. She is also on the DIVERSE IN list of women breaking the bias in Ireland. 

Mavis is the Project Officer at the Irish Refugee Council for their Employment Program, which involves employer engagement and the employment of women in the international protection process and from ethnic minority groups. 

She is a proud advocate for women refugees, passionate about creating sustainable employment, education, mentoring and support networks for women, helping them to feel empowered through self dignity and respect and leading their own communities to a better future - and she leads by example.

This is her story…

Mavis was forced into child prostitution at the age of 13 years, arranged by her own mother. Every weekend, she would take a bus to Johannesburg to be with different men. At the age of 15 years, her mother arranged her marriage to a man, forcing her into child marriage when she was just 16 years old. 

When Mavis found true love and safety with a man in a new relationship, it soon fell apart due to the continued control from her mother. 

She found safety living a different life during the day, immersing herself in her study, work and helping a community of refugee women, who were internally displaced from within South Africa. 

Through her journey, Mavis shows her inner strength, courage and resilience to keep moving forward, determined to find a better life for her and her young daughters. Seeking safety, and where her healing could begin, she arrived in Ireland. This episode shares her story before she arrived seeking asylum in Ireland. 

As Mavis shares, “my wish is that many young girls and women find the safety that I have found in Ireland. It is my place of sanctuary.”

Please listen with your hearts and open minds…