Why Inayah's success story is more than skin-deep

Then you speak to her and are struck by her dedication: her determination in producing handmade toiletries using only the purest and finest ingredients.

She's always been interested in pure ingredients. After the birth of her daughter, she was determined never to give her anything that contained any artificial or harmful chemicals.

Her business, Inayah's Quest, is flourishing, and as well as making organic shampoos, soaps, lip balms and moisturisers, she also runs workshops teaching others how to do the same.

Her phone rings constantly with people placing orders but she is most excited about her latest venture – teaming up with Lambeth Palace.

"I feel so honoured, the privilege to work with Lambeth Palace is immense. Less than three years ago, I was wrestling for my freedom following a difficult marriage.

"I was wandering aimlessly not knowing where I would end up. Now I feel like I have found my direction, purpose and rekindled my life. I feel so proud."

Inayah was visiting Lambeth Palace to meet the wife of the Archbishop of Canterbury as part of a women's project. She noticed there was a tiny gift shop on the premises and sensed an opportunity.

"I approached staff at Lambeth tentatively to see if they might stock my products. They have been fantastic, not just in relation to my products, but in every way. I feel that they have given me and my business a new edge. They have been supportive and inspired my thinking. I so look forward to continuing my business with them."

A success story for anyone but dig ever so lightly beneath the gloss, however, and you discover the most remarkable thing of all: just how far Inayah has really come following a difficult childhood.

She was the third daughter born into a Muslim family who wanted sons. She wasn't named for several weeks until eventually she became "Gulfam" – a male moniker.

Inayah says she was subjected to an arranged marriage at an early age at her home in Bradford Moor.

Her childhood and early teens, in the strict Pathan community, was wrapped around cultural restrictions and fear, she says.

"I was treated like a possession. My liberty and my innocence had been forsaken pure and simple. I had no rights at all. I couldn't even go out and feel the sun on my face."

At the age of 18 she gave birth to a daughter. "At that point I realised what my purpose in life was and I knew that there was no way that she would endure what I had been through."

As her daughter grew, so did Inayah's desire to make something of her own life.

"I had this passion for my daughter to do well at school. Her success was infectious, and I developed a thirst to go back to school."

It was then she changed her name to Inayah. "I'd always hated having a man's name and my daughter and I decided it was time for a change. In fact, it was her who said that by changing my name I could close

some of the ugly chapters of my life."

At the age of 27, Inayah went back to school. She sat in a class of 16-year-olds but left with four GCSEs and a desperate desire to learn more, eventually becoming a fully-qualified aromatherapist.

Although Inayah says her mother seemed to lack maternal instinct towards her as a child, she was interested in complementary medicine and always made her own remedies while a young Inayah would watch in fascination.

"If you had a headache or a stomach ache she would pound different herbs and liquids together and give us that. I learned a lot from her," says Inayah and it was this background that gave her the desire later to train to be an aromatherapist.

Education was the key to liberty, says Inayah. She found the strength to leave her husband and also come to terms with what happened to her.

"For so long I thought it was my own fault. I blamed myself completely. At the age of 40 I just realised I was not in the wrong. It was not my fault."

Her interest in aromatherapy and nature gave her something to focus on. Then one day a client asked her to make a nature- friendly face cream for her.

"I'd never done it before but I had been asked so I thought I better do it."

Eventually she came up with a cream that met her exacting standards

and experimented with essential oils.

Her early attempts were best forgotten, she says.

"They would go off too quickly or the consistency would be wrong, too greasy or too runny."

She persevered and tested out her concoctions on friends.

Soon she was hitting the jackpot and friends were raving about the wonderful effect her potions were having. "I made a shampoo for a friend with Afro hair. I was terrified it would be wrong but she came back and said her hair had never felt so soft."

Her products, which include a baby range, are now stocked in independent retailers across Bradford and she makes up orders that are specially designed to the needs of individual customers. She even runs courses teaching other about how to make the most of what nature has to offer. However, the highlight of her career and what makes her feel great is the connection with Lambeth Palace.

"They have made me feel special she says. I am so grateful to them."

As Inayah's business goes from strength to strength so does Inayah herself.

She has not forgotten her childhood and is determined to speak up about child abuse and challenge the concept of forced marriage.

She is particularly keen to stress the importance of education in the community.

"We need to raise awareness of the ever-lasting damage forced marriage, and child abuse can do, and we need to target areas where such conversations are avoided. It is a taboo subject especially in the Muslim community but children should know they are not to blame."

She is now a grandmother of two girls and she clearly adores them. "Girls are a blessing from God," she says. "Islam says that whoever looks after their daughters has a place in heaven.

"I am determined to do my bit for the rights of children, particularly young girls."

Inayah teaches women how to make their own eco-friendly household cleaning products at the Isis Project in Shipley, 01274 532858. All Inayah's products cost under 10 and can also be designed exclusively for individuals. Email Inayah for more information at [email protected]