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First female Muslim Lord Mayor takes up her post
Britain’s first female Muslim Lord Mayor has taken up the historic post in the city of Bradford.
Labour Councillor Naveeda Ikram, 37, a mother of three, was born in the UK, spent some of her teenage years in the Punjab, but has lived most of her life in Bradford.
The psychology and sociology graduate said becoming Lord Mayor “shows the progress that has been made in this country”.
She added: “Also there is the idea that Muslim women do not have the opportunities because their families do not support them.
“I can say wholeheartedly I have had overwhelming and massive support and as a British Asian I think it shows what a tolerant society we are living in.”
Her father came to Britain from the Punjab in the mid-1960s and started working for Cadbury’s in Birmingham before landing a job at the Habib Bank.
Branches of the Pakistani bank were springing up in Asian communities all over Britain as immigrant workers started sending money home.
He ended up as a bank manager and the family settled in the Little Horton area of Bradford which his only child has represented since 2004.
A lifelong Labour supporter, he was at a loss for whom to nominate as a female candidate for the ward until Naveeda suggested herself.
She added: “I was watching EastEnders at the time and thought it was time I got off the couch and did something more productive.”
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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