Riya Mohan

Riya Mohan is a public policy professional, writer, and advocate for women’s rights. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Lady Shri Ram College for Women and an MSc in International Relations of the Americas from University College London. Her postgraduate research, based on fieldwork in Montevideo, examined the impact of Uruguay’s Equity Plan Family Allowances (AFAM-PE) on women’s empowerment. She is currently a Fellow with the Embark India Development Fellowship, supporting the Government of India’s Viksit Bharat@2047 vision. Placed at NITI Aayog under the Aspirational Districts and Blocks Programme, her work focuses on strengthening the Brain Health Initiative, fostering CSR partnerships, and advancing cross-learning systems. Riya has held leadership roles across the refugee and violence against women and girls (VAWG) sectors, including positions with the Afghanistan and Central Asian Association and Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse. Her work spans project management, fundraising, and advocacy, and she has spoken at platforms such as the UK Houses of Parliament and local councils on issues including women’s rights in Afghanistan and domestic abuse in the UK. In India, she has supported Aapka Sahara Foundation in advancing mental health initiatives for the elderly. Her earlier experience includes editorial and content writing roles with IMARC Group, Itisaras, and IndianFolk. In 2024, she served as an Accredited Independent Election Observer during the UK General Elections in London. The same year, she was recognised as a Rising Leaders Fellow by the Aspen Institute UK. Alongside her policy work, Riya writes poetry shaped on socio-political issues. Her poems ‘In Verse’ and ‘The Silent Ghost’ have been published in the LSR College Magazine. She received second prize for ‘If Migratory Birds Were Human Immigrants’ in a poetry contest hosted by Instituto Cervantes, New Delhi, on World Book Day.