Access to Justice Week: Masuma
Masuma Khan is a third-year International Development student from Halifax, Nova Scotia. She’s currently the Campaigns and Outreach Coordinator at the Equity & Accessibility Office of the Dalhousie Student Union.
Even as a young child, Masuma's feelings toward the justice system were fear and distrust. When she was 10 years old, she went with her older cousin to court to dispute a ticket. She remembers seeing court security officers turn the corner and she jumped back, scared out of her wits. She attributes that now to the cold, austere environment and lack of friendly faces in the courthouse.
She recounts another memory from childhood: her mother was in a courtroom, explaining her reasoning to the judge. No matter what her mother said, no matter how sound the reasoning behind the argument, the judge brushed her off. Masuma describes her mother as a strong, formidable woman who commands respect, and the way her mother was invalidated by the judge was seared into her memory.
The stories Masuma would hear about the justice system from family and friends, and her own experiences as a child, have coloured the way she feels about justice in Canada. Describing the overarching trend of these experiences as "white people telling you you're wrong," she feels disillusioned in the efficacy of the system. Or indeed, the efficacy of the system for non-white Canadians.
It's a disillusionment with the justice system that she continues to hold today. While in Toronto, she attended a Black Lives Matter protest, a movement she feels strongly about. Yet she feared she and her friends would experience police brutality and would have no legal recourse because the justice system would be on the side of the police. While the justice system is supposed to exist to protect our civil liberties and right to speak our voice, Masuma feels as if her voice isn't valid, isn't worthy of being heard. She feels as if the justice system no longer supports those who are seeking justice.
However, when she speaks of her family's lawyer, who helped her with legal proceedings after she was in a car accident, it is in glowing terms. She attributes the difference being that her lawyer has known her all her life, that she feels comfortable with him. Her lawyer is not a part of a system that alienates her, but rather, he is a trustworthy guide to justice. When she walks into a courthouse, she feels as though its staff are threatened by her because she is a Muslim woman. But with her lawyer, she feels safe in the knowledge that he doesn't see her as a threat, but rather as a person who is in need of help.
"To find trust within the justice system is hard, but once you find it, you don't let it go."