Maiya Shang

Maiya Shang (she/her) is a Tangkhul Naga Indigenous Woman from North-East India. Currently, she is the Regional Program Technician for the Asia-Pacific region with International Indigenous Women's Forum (FIMI). In this role, she works closely with Indigenous Women’s organizations at the local, national, and regional levels across Asia and the Pacific region, providing support in grant-making, project management and capacity building. Maiya is also involved in the organization of various linking and learning workshops, community of practice and trainings for FIMI’s partners in the region. She has represented FIMI in donors’ meetings and conventions of global alliance of feminist organizations, where she advocated about the issues of Indigenous Women. The thing she likes most about her work is the interaction with Indigenous Women at the community level and learning about their aspirations, issues, and stories of self-empowerment that generates long-term impact on the ground. 

Academically, she holds a Bachelor’s degree in social science and a Master's degree in English Literature from Delhi University in India. After her education, she worked for multi-national companies in content development, including creation of school textbooks, development of onsite and online courses, as well as copy editing for about a decade. She also worked as a freelance copy editor for various Indigenous People’s organizations on various publications, including training manuals, reports, briefing papers, handbooks, proposals, books etc.

She was born and raised amidst armed conflict in the Naga Hills and witnessed its destructive and lasting impact on the communities. This background shaped her commitment to social justice, especially women’s rights, and she actively engaged in community and student-led initiatives addressing indigenous political and social issues in various capacities.

Maiya is a participant in the 2025-2026 Human Rights Advocates Program at the Institute for the Study of Human Rights at Columbia University.