Mallah was born on 21 September 1917, in a caravanserai close to Now Kandeh, whilst her parents were travelling to Mashhad on a pilgrimage.

[1] Her mother Khadijeh Afzal Vaziri, and her grandmother Bibi Khanoom Astarabadi, were both women's rights activists in Iran.

[2] After graduation, Mallah returned to Iran and began work as a librarian at the Psychology Research Institute Library at the University of Tehran.

[2] Mallah's interest in environmental activism was fostered growing up as her mother, Khadijeh Afzal Vaziri, was an environmentalist too.

[8] In 2009, the Society published a report entitled "Water Rights" and stressed the urgent need for the conservation of wetland habitats in Iran.