From Micro-Interventions to Policy: Maaria Mozaffar’s Dignity-Centered Blueprint for Equity
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/10/07
Maaria Mozaffar is an attorney, legislative drafter, mediator, author, and speaker who has been advancing equity since the early 2000s. She turns high-stakes conversations into inclusive, dignity-centered policies that counter division and dehumanization. Connecting personal leadership to community power, Maaria creates tangible pathways from conflict to consensus, empowering people to educate, engage, and mobilize. Her legislative models are replicated nationwide, and her mediations translate lived experience into actionable reform. A trusted commentator and mentor, she equips parents, advocates, and institutions to navigate censorship, religious freedom, and civil rights with empathy and rigor. Maaria’s throughline is simple: small actions, taken seriously, produce lasting systemic change.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Why are small actions important to emphasize as catalysts for systemic change?
Maaria Mozaffar: Small actions are important for the simple reason that they are doable without being overwhelming. We build our muscle of intention and action in small steps. Also, I have learned, by observing so many who choose to not pass the buck, that small steps are the building blocks of momentum that we need to drive impactful change.
Jacobsen: What is a recent practical example of a micro-intervention scaled into a replicated policy model?
Mozaffar: A conversation. It’s that simple. I had a conversation with student athletes who never got a chance to play high school sports because of the restrictions of modesty vs. the realities of high school sports uniforms. Afterward, I decided to ponder how to address it. Today, the legislation “Inclusive Athletic Attire Act,” which allows for modification of uniforms for modesty and faith purposes, first passed in Illinois, has been replicated in several states.
Jacobsen: How do you operationalize dignity-centered mediation in polarized settings?
Mozaffar: You start with recognizing the other party’s humanity and honoring their perspective. And at each point in the mediation process, you come back to that place of appreciation. This allows for each party to “see” the other’s reality vs. simply dismissing it. It also reaffirms the need for reciprocity when grace is needed.
Jacobsen: What tools can families use to protect inclusive curricula?
Mozaffar: Networking: This allows us to create alliance-building across communities to find commonalities. As we know, many voices are stronger than one.
Purposeful community meetings: We have coalition-led meetings with school superintendents so that, at the request of stakeholders, issues are presented to leadership with a united front.
Calls to Action: Add action items for coalitions that are precise and uniformity-driven. For example: “Call your school administration and demand inclusive history textbooks by 2026.”
Rely on experts: Look for academic leaders who focus on the curriculum you want to bring and have them testify about the significance of the need.
Jacobsen: As NPR defunding advances, what equity and democratic risks arise?
Mozaffar: NPR offers families across the nation critical news and programming that caters to the diverse demographics of our country for free. It plays the role of equalizing information access for households that have disadvantages in access to digital media. Without access to media such as NPR, we are creating crucial gaps in citizenry who can weigh in on issues of public health, safety, needs for financial assistance and, of course, civic engagement. Without information, residents and citizens cannot make empowered decisions about issues that impact their daily lives and future needs. In a nutshell, without access to information, they can never advocate for themselves, which is fundamental for a thriving democracy.
Jacobsen: How has your experience as an attorney with a global upbringing informed frameworks resisting dehumanization in the law?
Mozaffar: Having been exposed to different cultures in the world throughout my life, I have come to see only the commonalities of human identity. As an attorney, I see and use the power of empathy to advocate for issues that I myself am not experiencing. But through this lens I also recognize how institutions can create circumstances that unfairly set policies that treat people as “lesser” than others due to their race, culture or faith, driven by bias within the legal system.
Dehumanization in law is identified as unfair practices and policies that treat certain human lives as expendable. We see this in mass incarceration, in poor access to health care in jails, in unfair legal ramifications, in racial, ethnic and religious profiling in arrests and sentencing, and in policies that increase recidivism rather than rehabilitation so that individuals can improve their lives.
Jacobsen: What stakeholder-mapping and drafting techniques effectively convert opponents?
Mozaffar: Identifying issues that overlap among different demographics helps to create an incredibly unifying and persuasive narrative. It creates commonalities for stakeholders to recognize and consider. This should follow with the intentional inclusion of legislative language that brings people together. Phrases such as “including but not limited to Muslims, Jews, Christians, Hindus and other faiths,” or “all those impacted by,” serve as catch-all phrases that allow stakeholders to see themselves and their communities—and even their opponents—in legislation.
Jacobsen: What personal leadership practices sustain community engagement?
- Not passing the buck.
- Taking responsibility and accountability for how you yourself can take little steps to improve conditions for your community.
- Intentionally being informed.
- Intentionally being empathetic toward others in your community, in a way that propels you to aid others.
- Understanding that we are all interdependent.
Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Maaria.
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