Malak Bouod

Malak Bouod grew up in the Libyan city of Benghazi and became involved in human rights activism in her teenage years. She was involved in youth development groups in her home city and founded the Libyan debate club while also working in event management and strategic planning. She moved to Ireland in 2014 where she claimed asylum and was granted refugee status in 2016. Within four days of receiving her permission to remain in Ireland, Malak had secured a job with a tech company, working as a community operation analyst. She also volunteers with migrant and asylum seeker support groups in her free time. She has also trained migrant women in communication and public speech. Malak was interviewed by Sorcha Pollak as part of the New to the Parish series of articles in the Irish Times.