The Royal Society of Canada has announced the recipients of the 2025 Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella Prize, recognizing graduating law students across Canada who show strong potential to advance equity and social justice. This year’s edition of the award honours 24 recipients nationwide, with one student selected from each Canadian law school.
Here, at U of M, the prize has been awarded to Humaira Jaleel, a recent graduate of the Robson Hall faculty of law. Jaleel is a Juris Doctor graduate and currently serves as the executive director of Healthy Muslim Families (HMF), a non-profit organization she founded to support newcomer and racialized communities in Manitoba. Through HMF, Jaleel coordinates legal clinics that prioritize culturally responsive and community-based services.
Reflecting on receiving the Abella Prize, Jaleel described the recognition as deeply meaningful. “It’s an honour that I carry with deep humility,” she said. “Justice Abella’s legacy of compassion and commitment to equity resonates with me profoundly [and] recognized in her name is affirming and motivating.”
For Jaleel, public engagement is closely tied to service and accessibility. She described it as “building pathways to justice that are accessible and inclusive,” adding that this understanding has shaped her work for more than a decade.
Over the past 15 years, she has designed and delivered community programs that combine “legal, social and cultural supports for immigrants and refugees, particularly those who are often excluded from mainstream systems.”
Jaleel’s path to law was not linear. She entered law school after an 18-year gap following her previous master’s degree in information technology. She described law school as both transformative and demanding. “Law was a big step and a big change for me,” she said, as she cited the challenges of late-night assignments, high-pressure exams and balancing academic responsibilities with family life and non-profit leadership. Despite these challenges, she said the journey was worthwhile. “I always felt this path was chosen for me. It was worth every hardship.”
Beyond personal recognition, Jaleel viewed the award as a broader call to action. “Being selected for this award means that as a community […] we need to do so much more to improve access to justice in Canada,” she said. She expressed hope that her journey would help widen opportunities for others, and that “the future of law in Canada” should be “more representative of the communities it serves.”
When asked what advice she would offer to students and early-career professionals interested in justice and social change, Jaleel encouraged them to begin where they are. “Don’t wait to feel ready,” she said. She emphasized that lived experience is a strength, not a limitation, and encouraged young professionals to remain connected to their roots, seek mentors and allies and create spaces where none exist.
While community and social justice work may not always be visible, she noted they are essential. She encouraged emerging professionals to lead with humility, remain open to learning and “serve with intention.”
As she prepares for her call to the bar, Jaleel envisions formalizing a culturally responsive, community-rooted legal practice. Her long-term commitment, she said, remains unchanged. To serve, mentor and help build a more inclusive legal system, “[her] dream is that ‘access to justice’ becomes more than a term we throw around — it becomes something people experience.”
