The Mahali is a small ethnic group living in the northern districts of Rajshahi, Joypurhat, Dinajpur, Rangpur and Sylhet of Bangladesh.

Their attire is a mixture of Bangladeshi Muslim and Hindu culture, though many Mahalis wear modern dresses like shirt-trousers and salwar-kameez.

Mr. Zakarias Dumri, Director-MAASAUS and a Mahali by himself, has invented a Romanized Mahle alphabet for their language, which is being used experimentally in 3 primary schools of Damkurahat, Paba, Rajshahi.

This new alphabet allows Mahali children to study in Bengali as well as their native language, and, as a result, literacy has increased in that area.

Teachers of the school and NGOs named SIL-Bangladesh and Manusher Jonno (for the mankind) are helping the children in this endeavor.

They refrain from all household activities on the festival days in the belief that acting otherwise might bring bad luck to their family.