Dr Hannana Siddiqui

Dr Hannana Siddiqui is an award-winning author, expert and activist on violence against black and ethnic minority women and girls. She has been a leading member of the renowned black feminist organisation Southall Black Sisters, for thirty-six years. Hannana has supported over 10,000 women and girls facing domestic and sexual abuse, forced marriage, honour violence, immigration, poverty and destitution, and suicide and self-harm problems. She has successfully campaigned to make major legal and policy reform as well as change conservative cultural and religious attitudes and practices which discriminate against women and girls within minority communities. Hannana has supported Bekhal Mahmod since 2006 to achieve justice for her sister, Banaz, and to end honour violence. She formulated Banaz's Law and is currently campaigning with Bekhal to introduce this new law to re-frame cultural defences to honour crimes as aggravating offences and acts of dishonour.