Yousra Imran on her debut novel Hijab and Red Lipstick

“When I was about 9 years old my favourite author was Jacqueline Wilson,” she says. “I remember sending her a letter saying that my ambition was to become a published author; she replied to me and was very encouraging. It spurred me on.”

Imran, who lives in Dewsbury and is marketing and events coordinator at Bradford College, has now realised her childhood ambition with the publication of her debut novel. Launched last week, Hijab and Red Lipstick tells the story of Muslim teenager Sara who is at odds with her strict Egyptian father.

His conservative interpretation of Islam means that everything she wants to do – such as experiment with make up, read fashion magazines and listen to the latest Destiny’s Child single – is forbidden. Things get more difficult when her father gets a job in the Arabian Gulf and the whole family relocates to the Middle East. The narrative is loosely based on Imran’s own experiences – she is English-Egyptian and moved from north London to live in Qatar with her family for 15 years between the ages of 15 and 29.

“From a very early age I was always writing stories and poetry and entering competitions but my creative writing just stopped while I was out there,” she says. “It was partly because it felt like no-one really cared about what girls and young women had to say. It was as if my voice was silenced and I went through some pretty traumatic experiences but I always knew that when I got back to the UK I would write about them.”

In January 2018 Imran returned to London where she met her now husband who is from Dewsbury and the couple settled in West Yorkshire. “After six months or so I felt ready to start writing. I knew I could either write a memoir or use my experiences to write a novel. I decided on fiction because of all the relationships I had patched up, especially with my father. I thought that ongoing process might be harmed by a memoir.”

She stresses that Sara’s father is not based on her own but on “a combination of different Arab fathers.” Having completed her manuscript Imran began approaching literary agents, without any success. “It was a bit disheartening. A lot of the rejections praised my writing but said that they couldn’t see where the book would fit in the market. I think that now, more than ever, we need diverse books and voices out there.”

After watching a YouTube video offering aspiring authors advice on getting published, Imran began to research independent publishers, entered a competition run by London indie Hashtag Press with publication as a first prize and was announced as the winner last December. Imran hopes her success will inspire others to share their stories.

“We have such a diverse community in Bradford. In my job I meet so many young people from a range of different backgrounds. I feel writing is such a great outlet; I want to encourage them to believe in themselves and know that their stories should be told.”

Hijab and Red Lipstick is published by Hashtag Press.

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