Country/region: Liberia
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Yah was born during the heat of the Liberian civil war. Inspired by her Mother, a nurse and social worker, she spent her formative years volunteering with post war rehabilitation social centers in Monrovia. This journey inspired her career path in social work and law.
In 2022, Yah became the Director of medica Liberia, a feminist non-governmental organization that has, since 2006, transformed the lives of women and girls affected by violence including sexualized wartime violence. Guided by its feminist mandate, medica Liberia provides direct, Stress and Trauma Sensitive services to survivors of sexual and gender based violence, offering psychosocial support, legal assistance, and healthcare.
In addition to these services, medica Liberia is dedicated to building community resilience through capacity development, advocacy, and promoting women’s rights nationwide. Through this holistic approach, the organization addresses both the immediate and root causes of violence, creating safer spaces and advancing systemic change in Liberian society.
Beyond field and policy work, a commitment to shaping future practitioners is demonstrated through a role as an educator at the Mother Patern College of Health Sciences, Stella Maris Polytechnic. Here, the next generation of social workers is mentored in applying Stress- and Trauma-Sensitive approaches to effectively address violence against women.
Additionally, as Co-Founder of the Rising Youth Mentorship Initiative (RYMI), a community-based initiative, the work extends to advancing the sexual and reproductive health and rights of adolescent girls and young people. Through RYMI, young people are empowered with knowledge, resources, and supportive networks, fostering a generation equipped to advocate for their health, rights, and futures.
As a Chevening Scholar, Yah was awarded the 2020 Transitional Justice Institute & Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) Dissertation Prize for her dissertation ‘Can the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice advance women’s rights through its interpretation of gender-discrimination? A Critical analysis of Women’s Rights Jurisprudence in the African Human Rights’