Khadija El Hilali

Khadija El Hilali (ka-dee-jah   el-heel-al-ee) is the Administrative Assistant in the Feminist Institute of Social Transformation and the Assistant to the Joint Chair in Women’s Studies at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University, currently being held by Associate Professor Dr. Marie-Eve Carrier-Moisan.

Khadija received her B.A. in Global and International Studies from Carleton University, specializing in Global Law and Social Justice. While an undergraduate student, she launched a national campaign to address racism and discrimination within Canadian post-secondary institutions and served on the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Action Hub of Carleton University’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Khadija is also the Founder and Lead Coordinator of Support Sistem, a grassroot organization dedicated to supporting single-parent families who are experiencing financial insecurity and/or food insecurity to receive essential and life-affirming resources. Moreover, she has been serving as President of OPIRG-Ottawa and as Secretary of Ensemble Nonprofit’s Board of Directors, and previously served as the Chair of the Overbrook Community Association‘s Safety Committee and as the Outreach Coordinator for the Ottawa Black Diaspora Coalition.

Khadija is a dedicated and longtime community activist with a particular interest in anti-racism, food insecurity and decolonial learning. She has been a noteworthy advocate and leader in equity, anti-racism, and anti-oppression efforts in the local community and post-secondary institutions, particularly decolonizing academia and broader learning environments. One of her many achievements is the co-creation and co-facilitation of In the Wings: Role Play Exercise for Black, Indigenous and People of Colour Resurgence, an anti-racism open educational resource. In the Wings is a role-play exercise about racism and resistance co-authored alongside students, faculty, and recent graduates from Canadian post-secondary institutions. The role-play seeks to facilitate critical and creative reflections about systemic racism, hierarchies of knowledge and expertise, and structural inequities embedded in universities. The Role Play is now openly available for anyone to use, in French and/or in English.