Hanadi Saad, Human Rights Activist & President, Justice Femme
Hanadi Saad founded Justice Femme after the Parti Québécois made their first attempt to legislate the banning of religious symbols in 2013. The then-minority government failed to pass their new “Charter of Values” — and Hanadi continued to run her non-profit organization dedicated to combatting all forms of discrimination against women from diverse backgrounds. Then came Bill 21. Quebec’s new secularism law was passed in March 2019, and Justice Femme leapt into action, offering legal and psychological support to Muslim women. Among her efforts, she has created and distributed pamphlets to educate women on their rights as well as how to navigate the rise in Islamophobia, and she’s organized workshops for Muslim women to discuss the issue and get better informed. Her organization has also been tracking incidents of harassment and assault on Muslim women, reported to them via Facebook, phone, email and website — providing important evidence of the impact of the new law.