Lord Mayor of Bradford Councillor Naveeda Ikram has launched an awards scheme to recognise the achievements of women in the district.

The Bradford Women of the Year Awards will celebrate the dedication and inspiration of the unsung heroines who live, work and volunteer in the district’s communities.

The winners will be announced at the Great Victoria Hotel’s International Women’s Day lunch in March.

Coun Ikram said she was inspired to run the awards by a visit to the Women of the Year Awards at the InterContinental Hotel in London last October.

She said: “I was relaxing on the journey home, thinking about the wonderful, inspiring and courageous women I had the good fortune to meet at the lunch, and then thinking about the many local women I have encountered as a councillor and Lord Mayor and thought that we should do more to celebrate these women who make such positive contributions to our local communities.

“Then just before Christmas I met up with the Reverend Dr Barbara Glasson, team leader at the Methodist Touchstone Centre, who told me she was thinking of organising an award to recognise the achievements of women in the district. It was the spur we both needed to make this happen.”

The International Women’s Day Lunch, which will be hosted by Coun Ikram, will be held on Thursday, March 8. All nominees will also be invited to the Bradford and District Women’s Forum International Women’s Day event at Forster Community College on Saturday, March 10.

To nominate your Bradford Woman of the Year, complete the form in today's Telegraph & Argus and return to the Lord Mayor’s Office in City Hall by Tuesday, January 31.

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