Most Powerful British Asian Women list
It is cool to see Parveen Kumar is on the list..
WOMEN
Shami Chakrabarti, director of national civil rights group Liberty, tops our list of the most powerful British Asian women. Since 2001, Chakrabarti has campaigned for human rights in Parliament, and the courts. She is rarely absent from our TV screens, and is a staple guest on Radio 4's Today programme.
Human rights is a running theme and the seventh secretary-general of Amnesty International, Irene Zubaida Khan, comes second on the list. She has led missions across the world through Bangladesh, Pakistan, Lebanon and Israel to discuss human rights issues, and won the Sydney Peace Prize in 2006.
"I lived through a war in Bangladesh and saw how people with nothing gave others food and shelter," she says. "It gave me courage to think that when you can't rely on government to protect you, you can rely on human nature. So I've made the purpose of my life to contribute to society and give back what I get."
Third on the list, Parveen Kumar, heads up the British Medical Association. Author of one of the most widely read medical textbooks for students and doctors internationally, she has become a medical celebrity, giving lectures across the globe.
Legal services complaints commissioner and legal services ombudsman for England and Wales, Zahida Manzoor, is hot on her heels in fourth place. She oversees the handling of complaints by professional bodies, including the Law Society and the General Council of the Bar.
"For my generation it was unusual for Muslim women to go to university - it was frowned upon," she says. "I am very grateful that my father, who was my main source of inspiration, paid no heed."
Next comes Sheetal Mehta, who heads up Innovative Social Ventures, where she acts as a liaison between the Government and entrepreneurs, and helps technology start-ups to access venture capital.
The ubiquitous Meena Pathak, of Patak's Indian food company, which has taken traditional Indian cooking to the supermarket shelves, comes sixth on the list. She is director of product development and frequently travels to the sub-continent to source the spice mixes that go into her cooking sauces, curry pastes, chutney, pickles, ready meals, snacks and breads.
Seventh comes the first woman ever to hold the BBC's top finance job, Zarin Patel. She has the unenviable task of balancing an annual budget of around £4bn. She is a member of the BBC executive board, and reports to director-general Mark Thompson.
Another high-flying businesswoman is Ruby McGregor Smith, in eighth place, as one of the few female chief executives of a FTSE 100 company, support services group MITIE.
Powerful British Asian women
1 Shami Chakrabarti, director of civil rights group Liberty
2 Irene Zubaida Khan, seventh secretary general of Amnesty International
3 Parveen Kumar, head of the British Medical Association
4 Zahida Manzoor, legal services complaints commissioner and legal services ombudsman
5 Sheetal Mehta, chief executive of Innovative Social Ventures
6 Meena Pathak, co-owner and director of Patak's Indian food company
7 Zarin Patel, BBC group finance director
8 Ruby McGregor Smith, chief executive of MITIE Group
9 Meera Syal, comedian, playwright and writer
10 Sayeeda Warsi, vice-chairman of the Conservative Party
Compiled by Savita Vij, editor of CultivAsian magazine
WOMEN
Shami Chakrabarti, director of national civil rights group Liberty, tops our list of the most powerful British Asian women. Since 2001, Chakrabarti has campaigned for human rights in Parliament, and the courts. She is rarely absent from our TV screens, and is a staple guest on Radio 4's Today programme.
Human rights is a running theme and the seventh secretary-general of Amnesty International, Irene Zubaida Khan, comes second on the list. She has led missions across the world through Bangladesh, Pakistan, Lebanon and Israel to discuss human rights issues, and won the Sydney Peace Prize in 2006.
"I lived through a war in Bangladesh and saw how people with nothing gave others food and shelter," she says. "It gave me courage to think that when you can't rely on government to protect you, you can rely on human nature. So I've made the purpose of my life to contribute to society and give back what I get."
Third on the list, Parveen Kumar, heads up the British Medical Association. Author of one of the most widely read medical textbooks for students and doctors internationally, she has become a medical celebrity, giving lectures across the globe.
Legal services complaints commissioner and legal services ombudsman for England and Wales, Zahida Manzoor, is hot on her heels in fourth place. She oversees the handling of complaints by professional bodies, including the Law Society and the General Council of the Bar.
"For my generation it was unusual for Muslim women to go to university - it was frowned upon," she says. "I am very grateful that my father, who was my main source of inspiration, paid no heed."
Next comes Sheetal Mehta, who heads up Innovative Social Ventures, where she acts as a liaison between the Government and entrepreneurs, and helps technology start-ups to access venture capital.
The ubiquitous Meena Pathak, of Patak's Indian food company, which has taken traditional Indian cooking to the supermarket shelves, comes sixth on the list. She is director of product development and frequently travels to the sub-continent to source the spice mixes that go into her cooking sauces, curry pastes, chutney, pickles, ready meals, snacks and breads.
Seventh comes the first woman ever to hold the BBC's top finance job, Zarin Patel. She has the unenviable task of balancing an annual budget of around £4bn. She is a member of the BBC executive board, and reports to director-general Mark Thompson.
Another high-flying businesswoman is Ruby McGregor Smith, in eighth place, as one of the few female chief executives of a FTSE 100 company, support services group MITIE.
Powerful British Asian women
1 Shami Chakrabarti, director of civil rights group Liberty
2 Irene Zubaida Khan, seventh secretary general of Amnesty International
3 Parveen Kumar, head of the British Medical Association
4 Zahida Manzoor, legal services complaints commissioner and legal services ombudsman
5 Sheetal Mehta, chief executive of Innovative Social Ventures
6 Meena Pathak, co-owner and director of Patak's Indian food company
7 Zarin Patel, BBC group finance director
8 Ruby McGregor Smith, chief executive of MITIE Group
9 Meera Syal, comedian, playwright and writer
10 Sayeeda Warsi, vice-chairman of the Conservative Party
Compiled by Savita Vij, editor of CultivAsian magazine
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