Meena Ansari practices Aboriginal Law in Tkaronto. Her passion for Indigenous sovereignty stems from experiencing colonization in Pakistan. Meena received her legal training from the University of Victoria. While a law student, Meena published a peer-reviewed paper arguing for feminist interpretations of Qur’anic reproductive laws. Meena’s understanding of Islam is grounded in her faith practice at the El-Tawhid Juma Circle, a gender-equal, LGBTQI2S affirming mosque.
Apart from her professional and faith-based interests, Meena enjoys watching stand-up comedy shows, petting other people’s dogs, and scuba diving (only in warm water).
TESTIMONIAL
“Meena furthers women’s equality through her scholarship on Islamic feminism. Meena has published a
peer-reviewed paper in the Dalhousie Journal of Legal Studies (DJLS), arguing for a feminist
interpretation of the Qur’an. The essay posits that a re-examination of the Qur’an reveals that
reproductive laws in most Muslim-majority nations are based on patriarchal cultural attitudes rather
than religious texts. Meena’s paper is the most downloaded essay from DJLS and is consistently listed
on its ‘Trending Papers’ page.”
— Meena Ansari’s nominator, El-Farouk Khaki
