Hana Assafiri in-conversation with Patrick Abboud

The constant search for autonomy and freedom is in every woman.

Hana Assafiri is a much-loved and revered social activist and radical entrepreneur. Through the medium of food and dining in her renowned Moroccan Soup Bar, she has worked tirelessly to rectify the systemic and social barriers to women’s empowerment.

Hana’s memoir follows her childhood between Lebanon and Australia, her marriage, her attempts to leave, and her ensuing career in women’s services. In 1998, she opened the Moroccan Soup Bar, which would quickly become an iconic Melbourne institution—founded on the radical notion that marginalised women, together in the kitchen, can effect social change.

Hana Assafiri is a Melbourne-based social activist, feminist, and owner of the popular Moroccan Soup Bar restaurant. Through the Moroccan Soup Bar, Hana provides employment for marginalised women in her community and hosts important initiatives like Speed Date a Muslim and Conversation Salons. She has been recognised…