Dr. Zohra Husaini was a barrier breaking scholar and an ardent champion of the dignity and worth of women and girls. By the example of her own life, she forged a path to enable the fulfillment of each and everyone’s potential. 

Dr. Husaini’s fierce intellect, her serene demeanour, and her deep humanity enabled and empowered generations of girls and women to pursue  and achieve a life of meaning and worth.

She was a feminist before we knew what feminism meant, an advocate of inclusive societal development in a world where patriarchy and hierarchy reign, a remarkable scholar, and the torch-bearer of the most sublime tenets of Islamic culture and heritage, summoning the divine unity that underlies the diversity of the human condition.

These were the guiding principles and values she brought to her quest for social justice: to a world where too many women were trapped in degradation and abuse, cycles of violence within and outside the home, treated as chattel and worse: denied their human birthright to a life of dignity and purpose. 

We, her descendants and disciples, have convened the Dr. Zohra Husaini Memorial Award to recognize and affirm those who follow in her path: pursuing action to bring  tangible and enduring impact to enhance the human rights of women and girls.

We seek to recognize those who shared her abiding quest to alleviate the social conditions that wreak violence, havoc, and anguish on women’s lives. 

Her profound legacy of service in the Indo-Canadian Women’s Association, of which she was a co-founder, the Canadian Council of Muslim Women, and the Edmonton Interfaith Centre, affirms her deep commitment to communities of inclusion where none is left behind. The Indo-Canadian Women’s Association remains central to her legacy and her memory, and has agreed to work with the Husaini descendants and disciples to curate the annual Dr. Zohra Husaini Memorial Award.