Rising Beyond the Ceiling - U.K. Global Inspirations

RISING BEYOND THE CEILING GLOBAL INSPIRATIONS U.K

Inviting Nominations

Inspiring Muslim Women of India in Global Diaspora Based in United Kingdom and Europe

Rising Beyond The Ceiling is a global initiative to shine a spotlight on achievements and contributions of Muslim Women in and of India. This RBTC 100 Women Global inspirations Compendium seeks to recognize Muslim women from India who have made their mark across the globe in many countries around the world. All these women have done their initial studies in India but later moved to other countries and received accolades and successes in many fields.

While they may have nationalities of other countries today and live in countries and cities across the globe, they are a source of pride to India and their Alma Mater institutions in India. This global compendium is also to serve as inspiration and roles models for the next generation of Indian women who aspire to make careers globally.

Nominations are invited for the RBTC 100 Global Inspirations 2024 LIST. Please send a brief 250 word profile with links of inspiring Indian Muslim diaspora women making a contribution is any of the 14 categories below to RisingBeyondTheCeiling@gmail.com

Meanwhile check out our inspiring nominees in the list below of nominees based in cities of the United Kingdom & Ireland !

Nominations of Inspiring Muslim Women from India in the United Kingdom & Ireland

Leadership in Governance /Government

RBTC Global Nominee. ANAM SHAHAB, Head of Policy and Analysis HM Treasury. Senior Economist and Policy Advisor, United Kingdom Civil Services. London UK. Alumna: Lady Shriram College, Delhi University, Delhi, India. Hometown: Lucknow, India. Click side arrow for profile details.

Anam Shahab is a Senior Economist and Policy advisor in UK Civil services at HM Treasury. She has held various policy advisory roles including Head of Industrial Strategy, Head of Workforce pay and economic analysis, economic advisor on the review of the economics of biodiversity among others.
In 2016 she was on secondment to IMF Fiscal Affairs Department to represent the UK Government’s strategy on public sector wage and workforce policy. Anam led a week-long international summit as a panel member to influence public sector wage bill policies in African countries.
Ms. Shahab has also worked as Economist at the Cambridge Economic Policy Associates (CEPA) London, Economist where she led on economic analysis of regulation policies in the energy, water and transport sector, e.g. led the productivity analysis of Network Rail and UK airports and assessment of the impact of price controls in NI electricity market.
Besides her profession work as an Economist, Anam is also a writer/poet. Her Collection of poems titled “soulless phantoms” was published by Penguin India in 2013. She has also been the Founder and Chief Editor of ‘the Cambridge Economist’ magazine . She founded and edited the first ever student run and student written magazine by the Economics and undergrads at Cambridge University
Anam has an MPhil in Economics, University of Cambridge, UK. She received the Duke of Edinburgh Scholarship from my college; She has also completed a Course in International Marketing at Harvard University, USA. Anam received her Post Graduate Diploma in Economics, University of Cambridge, UK (Distinction) . She was also awarded the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust Bursary to outstanding students from overseas. Anam completed her BA (Honors) Economics, Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University, India (First class and in the top 1 % in Delhi University).
Links/References

RBTC Global UK Nominee. REHANA AMEER. Politician, Entrepreneur, London. Home Town: Tamil Nadu, India. Click side arrow for profile details.

Rehana Ameer is the first Indian born woman to be elected as an Independent Common Councillor in the City of London Corporation’s 950 years of history in March 2017 for Vintry Ward. She is a serial entrepreneur with ventures in Consulting (IT, Engineering and Management) Education and Healthcare. She possesses over 25 years of experience in IT and Management Consulting where she has led, managed and successfully delivered large multimillion-pounds IT and business transformation programmes for multinational companies worldwide.
Rehana is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and is an honorary member of CEO Clubs Network UAE. She is also a Trustee of Trust for London. Rehana is on the Significant Business Committee of the East London NHS Foundation Trust where she provides strategic advice and guidance on the Trust’s investments and other commercial activities. She is an International Advisor of the United Economic Forum and a few other chambers of commerce in the UK and abroad where she mentors and provides strategic advice to entrepreneurs and professionals. Her key interest areas are entrepreneurship, women empowerment, education, technology, health, and international trade. Her interest also includes promoting the City of London in overseas markets with a focus in India and she actively engages in promoting trade between the UK and India.Rehana studied Public Policy from Oxford University. She also holds an MBA in International Business from the UK and several IT and Management certifications to her credit such as PRINCE2, SAP, MSP, ITIlLV3, Cloud Computing, Change Management, TOGAF, Digital Marketing and many more.
Rehana has over 25 years of experience in leading, managing and successfully delivering multi-million-pound multi-country Business and IT Transformation Programmes for clients worldwide in over 50 countries. Before embarking on her entrepreneurial journey, she has worked for companies such as Siemens, Capgemini, Sony and many others where she has held senior leadership positions. Rehana is a serial entrepreneur in – IT, Management & International Business Consulting, Education, Recruitment and Healthcare ventures.
References:

https://www.rehanaameer.com/

RBTC Global UK Nominee. SHEHLA HASAN. Director & Head, UK Confederation of India Industry, London. Alumna Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University, India. Hometown: Delhi. Click side arrow for profile details.

Shehla Hasan currently serves as the Director and Head of the United Kingdom, Confederation of Indian Industry which she joined in June 2023. Ms. Hasan previously worked as the Executive Director, Manchester India Partnership from April 2021 till May 2023. She has over 15 years’ experience in the UK India economic corridor.Shehla headed the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) India office as Country Director- India in New Delhi between 2012 and 2021. Before that, she led inward investment work and healthcare trade for UKTI at the British Deputy High Commission in Kolkata for five years. She started her career as corporate news reporter in Business Standard newspaper, followed by working four years at the Indian Chamber of Commerce. She did a brief stint as Consulting Editor at EEPC India, under the Indian Commerce Ministry.
In August 2021, Ms. Hasan was named as one of the most successful women of India origin in the UK by Purple Halo club. In May 2019 she was named one of the 100 most influential women in the UK-India relationship. In March 2018, she was included in the list of 11 inspirational women in the UK India business corridor by the CII. She founded the CBI’s India Advisory Board, comprising 25 chiefs of UK companies in India and the first ever UK India Women’s Leadership Network. She was a member of the CII’s MNC and Ease of Doing Business committees. She was part of the India Advisory Group of the Newcastle University Business School, and is a Committee Member of British Business Group, Delhi.
References/Sources

100-Most-Influential-in-UK-India-relations-3rd-Edition-2019.pdf (indiaincgroup.com) (see page 28 for profile)
Listed as one of the 11 most influential women in the UK India corridor: You Can’t Be What You Can’t See - Asian News from UK (asianlite.com)
CBI re-open New Delhi office | News | Fresh Business Thinking
Shehla Hasan - Eye on England: Shehla Hasan and big business, Chila Burman's 'do you see words in rainbows?' - Telegraph India
Manchester's big Asian signing - EasternEye
People on the move: The 37 hires and promotions across the North West you should not miss - Business Live (business-live.co.uk)

Strides in Science

RBTC Global Nominee. NAZIA NASIR, Structural Biologist. Researcher at University of Leeds, Leeds, UK. Home Town: Aligarh, India. Alumna: Aligarh Muslim University, India. Click side arrow for profile details.

Dr Nazia Nasir was recently a visiting Researcher at University of Leeds , England , United Kingdom. She is a Freelance Research Editor at Cactus Communications , Leeds , U.K. and a freelance writer with other science platforms.
Nazia's Postdoctoral Research is backed by Humboldt Fellowship at The Julius Maximilian University of Wurzburg , Bavaria , Germany. Her skills and expertise include X-ray Diffraction, Protein Structure , Crystal Structure, Powder X-ray Diffraction, Crystallization, X-ray Crystallography Crystallography, Crystal, Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, Membrane Proteins, Structure Determination Single Crystal Structural Biology Macromolecular etc.
She earned her Master's degree in Science from Aligarh Muslim University and was a Doctoral Researcher at National Institute of Immunology (NII) , New Delhi India.
Links/References:

RBTC Global Nominee. SEEMA QAMAR , Biochemist, Senior Researcher at University of Cambridge, UK. Home Town in India Add. Click side arrow for profile details.

Dr. Seema Qamar is currently Senior Research Associate at University of Cambridge, England, United Kingdom. Qamar is a Biochemist, Scientist and Researcher. Her research looks into how biochemical changes in the brain contribute to anxiety disorders with primary focus on investigating a potentially causal role of oxidative stress in these disorders. Behavioral, pharmacological, biochemical and immunohistochemical approaches in neuronal cell culture and rodent models of oxidative stress are utilized to examine mechanistic underpinnings of anxiety disorders.
She is presently exploring the involvement of oxidative stress in comorbid prevalence of anxiety disorders with cognitive impairment and hypertension. Current research projects include a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) funded project, which is focused on determining the role of antioxidant defense mechanisms mediated by a Regulator of G-Protein Signaling Protein (RGS)-2 in anxiety-like behavior of rats. Involvement of PKC, p38 MAPK and calpains in regulation of these mediators specifically involvement of antioxidant defense enzymes including glutathione reductase 1 and glyoxalase 1 in anxiety-like behavior of rats is being examined. Her recent work has identified that induction of oxidative stress via pharmacological intervention or via induction of psychological stress of acute sleep-deprivation, both lead to anxiety-like behaviour in rats.
Seema Qamar is also Affiliated member of Society For Neuroscience (SFN), American Society For Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET), Association of Scientists of Indian Origin (ASIOA), International Society of Behavioral Neuroscience (IBNS), Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA). She also works as Journal Reviewer, Editorial Board Member and Grant Reviewer.
Links/References

Professionals in Medicine

RBTC Global Nominee AIMAN HAIDER. Consultant Histopathologist at University College London, London, UK. India. Alumna: Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, AMU. Aligarh, India. Click side arrow for profile details.

Dr. Aiman Haider is a consultant Histopathologist (uropathology) at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London United Kingdom. Aiman earned Doctor of Medicine Degree in Pathology from Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University.
Dr. Haider worked as a Specialist registrar at Department of cellular pathology at University College London hospital and was a clinical research fellow at the division of surgery and interventional science UCL. She now works as a consultant urological pathologist at UCLH and counties to work alongside numerous clinical trials and collaborative research projects. She has lectured nationally and internationally and is also a Mentor in the International Trainee support scheme at Royal College of Pathologists.
Trained as a medical practitioner, Aiman did her MBBS and MD from Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College in Aligarh following which she was a Senior Resident at GB pant Hospital, India.
Sources/References:https://www.linkedin.com/in/aiman-haider-20aa2119/?originalSubdomain=ukhttps://www.researchgate.net/profile/Aiman_Haider

Change Makers in Social /International Development

RBTC Global Nominee. SHAHEEN AMAAN. Community Advice Officer, Local Council. United Kingdom . Home Town: Bhopal Madhya Pradesh. Click side arrow for profile details.

Shaheen Amaan has been working at the Local Council for over 25 years, majority of the time as a Community Advice officer. This role involved advising the local Asian Community on their rights to Welfare Benefits, Shaheen enjoyed the role immensely as she was able to help her local community. After the closure of Advice Centre in 2014, Shaheen moved to Work in the HR Department and is currently work as the Organisational Learning and Development Officer. Shaheen is responsible for identifying learning and development needs of the staff and members at the Council. Procuring and organising training delivery and maintaining the training budget. Her decisions regarding training delivery, have a positive impact on the individuals as well as improve the service delivery of the Council as a whole. Shaheen is a member of Workforce Health and awareness team, Equalities Group as well as member of the Friendly Faces Team at the Council.
Outside of work, Shaheen enjoy cooking, gardening, walking, listening to music and visiting places with beautiful scenery.
Links/References:ADD

Making an impact through Media & Communications

RBTC Global Nominee. NASREEN MUNNI KABIR, Documentary Filmmaker and Producer, London UK. Home Town/Origin: Hyderabad, India. Click side arrow for profile details.

Nasreen Munni Kabir is an India-born television producer, director and author based in the U.K. Kabir was born in Hyderabad, India and moved to London with her family when she was age three. At 17, she relocated to Paris and lived there for 19 years - studying film and working as an assistant on various documentaries. Kabir started making documentaries in 1986 and over the years, she has directed several documentaries and published various books on cinema. She has conducted interviews in various formats since 1983, while she organised screenings of Indian film classics at the Pompidou Centre in Paris and later across Europe. Eventually her interviews followed the cinematic theory of documentaries.
Through her documentaries, Kabir has introduced the West to Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan— a rare feat which no documentary filmmaker could achieve. Having pursued her Master’s degree in cinema studies at a Paris university, she organised one of the first major Indian film festivals in France at the Georges Pompidou Centre in 1983 and in 1985 when over 100 films were screened. Among her other talents, Kabir is an excellent cook. She is also a prolific writer.
Preserving the history of cinema is a priority for Kabir. The passion has prompted her to take up the painstaking job of transcribing the dialogue of some classic Hindi films and publishing them with Hindi, Urdu and English translations. She is the first author who has documented the entire dialogue and songs of landmark films (Mughal-e-Azam, Awaara, Mother India and Pyaasa) in a four-language format (Hindi, Urdu, Romanised Hindi/Urdu and an English translation).
Kabir’s journey in Britain began with the popular programme 'Movie Mahal' which was telecasted in the eighties. She won the 1999 Women of Achievement Award in Arts & Culture in the UK and became a governor on the board of the British Film Institute in 2000, serving a six-year term. After being a consultant for over 28 years for Channel 4 TV, and continuing to curate its 20-part Indian film season, Kabir has come a long way in the field of non-fiction film making. She believes that documentaries must always have an element of storytelling in order to connect with audiences. Some of her published work includes Guru Dutt: A Life in Cinema, ,Talking Films & Talking Songs with Javed Akhtar, Bollywood:The Indian Cinema Story , Lata Mangeshkar In Her Own Voice , The dialogue of Pyaasa: Guru Dutt's immortal classic and The dialogue of Devdas: Bimal Roy’s Immortal Classic.
She is an inspirational woman to all the authors out there who believe that books will always provide more information and deeper insight into an artist’s thinking because there is a lot more research and time behind such work. In the 1980s, when there were virtually no books on Hindi cinema and no way of finding out much about a person except for film magazines, she was the one who looked at the films carefully and asked the filmmakers and actors questions that would take them back to the film, the scenery, the detail. She is a silent observer, a hard worker and an achiever . A bulk of Kabir’s professional life has been spent on asking, listening, teasing out details and conducting research. After having a working experience of so many years she's still dedicated and passionate about her work.
References/Links

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasreen_Munni_Kabir

Impassioned Authors and Poets

RBTC Global Nominee. FARAH SIDDIQUI MATIN. Poet, Author. Dublin, Ireland. India Hometown: Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. Click side arrow for profile details.

Poet Farah Siddiqui Matin, Poet, a Ph.D from the University of Allahabad. Born and brought up in Allahabad, she currently resides in Ireland. She started to write poems in January 2014 and published her first book “The Bliss of Solitude” in May 2014. She is also the author of “Like I Born in Venus” (2015) and “India’s Daughter – 1989 – 2012”, dedicated entirely to Nirbhaya and her life. Besides this, here poems are published in 32 anthologies and many journals and magazines in India and internationally. She mainly writes on social issues with a strong feminist voice. She writes in free-verse style, and explores the inner and outer realms of human existence.
She is a recipient of many honors and awards and from national and international organizations, which includes “Hindustan Times Woman Award 2017”, “Rising Star India Award 2016” by the London Organization ‘We Are The City’, “The Best Poetess Debut Award” in 2015, 100 women honors award in 2016 by Tamanna Udaan Ki, Jaipur, Nominated as an incredible women writer of India in 2016 New Delhi, Outstanding poetess by BBIS Media club in association with Creative world media academy, New Delhi, etc.
References/Sources:https://www.pressreader.com/india/hindustan-times-lucknow-live/20170528/281479276366565http://lifeandlegends.com/farah-siddiqui-matin-translated-farah-siddiqui-matin/

Creative Contributors to the Arts

RBTC Global Nominee. ASMA KHAN, Chef, Restaurateur, Cookbook Author. London, United Kingdom. Alumni: La Martinier College, Kolkata, India. Click side arrow for profile details.

Asma Khan (born July 1969) is an Indian-born British chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author. She owns Darjeeling Express restaurant in London's Covent Garden and was profiled on the sixth season of the documentary series Chef's Table. In June 2019 Business Insider named her number 1 on their list of "100 Coolest People in Food and Drink".
Khan grew up in Calcutta. She has said that she and her siblings were treated equally by her parents, and that she and her mother "made peace while I was still very young." Her father is Rajput from western Uttar Pradesh. Her mother is from West Bengal and had a catering business in the 1970s and 1980s. Khan attended La Martiniere in Calcutta.
In 1996 her husband moved to SOAS University of London to teach, and Khan started studying law at King's College London. She graduated with a PhD in British Constitutional Law in 2012.
Source/References:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asma_Khan

Achieving Academic Excellence

RBTC Global Nominee. SALMA RAHEEM, Lecturer in Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour, Management School, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom. Home Town: Kerala, India [ RBTC Kerala] . Alumna: London School of Economics. London. Click side arrow for profile details

Salma Raheem is a Lecturer in Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour in the Work, Organisation, and Management Group. She completed her PhD at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in the Department of Management, where she held additional roles such as Academic Advisor to all second year BSc Management students, an LSE Fellow and as an elected member of the LSE Students' Union. For her work in the Union, she was awarded the Outstanding Contribution Award. Prior to joining academia, she worked as a management consultant in the Middle East and India.
Salma's research interests include the impact of multicultural individuals, the management of multicultural teams and the development of leadership and inclusive cultures for organisational diversity. Her work has been published in the Journal of International Business Studies, as a book chapter in the Handbook of Human Resource Management in the Middle East as well as practitioner papers. Her work has also been presented at several conferences. She enjoys using a mixed methods approach to research. Her thesis explores the employment of multicultural individuals, their ability to process and communicate multiple perspectives and their potential to enhance team productivity and cohesion in diverse teams. The context of her research focus is in MNCs in emerging economies such as the Middle East with implications for furthering research in areas of international human resource management, talent management, cross-cultural management, identity and team dynamics.
Salma is a Fellow of The Higher Education Academy, UK. She's won several awards for her teaching including the Class Teaching Excellence Award for Inspirational Teaching (2018-19), at the LSE and the British Journal of Industrial Relations Teaching Fellowship 2014-15, (competitive) at the Department of Management (LSE). She has taught for school students (widening participation), undergraduate, graduate and executive programs on several management topics including, HR, organisational behaviour, leadership, negotiations and marketing and consumer behaviour.
Links/References:

https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/management/staff/salma-raheem/

RBTC Global Nominee. RANA PARWEEN, External Examiner and Associate Academic Leader at Askham Bryan College York, United Kingdom. Home Town: Aligarh, India. Alumna: Aligarh Muslim University, India. Add photo/update profile.

Rana Parween works at Askham Bryan College, York, United Kingdom. Rana Parween also works as External Examiner at various colleges and universities at York, United Kingdom. Rana has taught at Askham Bryan College for 3 years as Associate Academic Leader (2017– Present) and as Lecturer, Assistant Section Leader for Higher Education (2002- 2017) in York, England, United Kingdom. She has also worked as External examiner Company Name Various Colleges and Universities (2014 – Present), Lecturer at Capel Manor College, London (2014) and as Foundation Year Coordinator at Female Intermediate College of Health Sciences, Ministry of Health. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (1996 – 2002).
Rana Parween is skilled in Lecturing, Higher Education, Public Speaking, research, Science, Curriculum Design, Adult Education, Curriculum Development, Statistics, E-learning, Teaching, University teaching and external examining. Rana, a resident of England, completed her studies, PhD in Biodiversity and Conservation from University of York, Postgraduate Certificate in Education from The University of Huddersfield, Master's degree in Wildlife Biology and Bachelor of Science in Zoology from Aligarh Muslim University.
Links/References:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rana-parween-54103923/?originalSubdomain=uk

Youth Inspirations: Pursuing cutting-edge PhD /post doctoral research

RBTC Global Youth Nominee. ANAM FATIMA. PhD, Senior Research Associate at University of East Anglia, United Kingdom Alumna Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India. Click side arrow for profile details.

Anam Fatima is a resident of Allahabad, India. She completed her Masters in Industrial Chemistry from Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh in 2018 and her research based master SERP+ (Chemistry) from the University of Paris Saclay in 2019. Dr. Fatima recently completed her PhD in the same University on the topic "Ultrafast spectroscopy on photoactive systems for Artificial Photosynthesis", in March 2023. She now works as Senior Research Associate at University of East Anglia in the UK on an EPSRC funded research project which aims to study the ultrafast dynamics and structure of 3rd generation fluorescent proteins for application in biomedical research.
Links/References

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anam-fatima-942799111/?originalSubdomain=fr

RBTC Global Youth Nominee. NIDA ALI. PhD, Post doctoral Researcher, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom. Alumna University of Hyderabad, India. Click side arrow for profile details.

Nida Ali is post doctoral fellow. She is studying the role of RNA repair enzyme RtcA in the physiology of E. coli bacteria using proteomics, transcriptomics and classical genetics technique in a collaboration project of Dr. Christoph Engl and Professor Martin Buck for one of my project (for more information the link to the manuscript will be provided soon).
In another project, I study the noise and heterogeneity at the level of single cell in Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis by applying single-molecule RNA-fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), fluorescent imaging and MATLAB based computational analysis.
Nida completed her PhD project "Studies on the functions and mechanisms of action of the endoribonuclease RNase E in Escherichia coli" under the guidance of Dr. J Gowrishankar with a publication "Cross-subunit catalysis and a new phenomenon of recessive resurrection in Escherichia coli RNase E (2020) Nucleic Acids Research". Nida applies the techniques of proteomics, transcriptomics, single-molecule RNA-fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), fluorescent imaging and MATLAB based computational analysis, microbiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, genetic engineering, confocal microscopy and genetics in my study. Her broad research interest generally lies in and around microbiology.
Links/References

RBTC Global Youth Nominee. UMMUL FAYIZA. Doctoral candidate at the School of Law, University of Warwick, U.K. Home Town: Kannur, Kerala, India [RBTC Kerala]. Alumna Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, India. Click side arrow for profile details.

Authorship on Islamic Feminism
Ummul Fayiza is a doctoral candidate at the School of Law, University of Warwick. Her research lies in the areas of rights, gender, law and religion. She is a holder of Chancellor’s International Scholarship, University of Warwick (2022-25). She has received MA in Political Science (2013-15), followed by an MPhil (2015-17) at the Centre for Political Studies (CPS) from India's leading research university, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Ummul was awarded with prestigious National and Institutional fellowships during her Graduate Studies such as Junior Research Fellowship in 2018 and The Nirman Foundation Fellowship in 2014.
Ummul Fayiza is a regular commentator on Indian Muslim Women's issues for various newspapers, magazines and websites in India and has contributed more than fifty articles that were published by leading publishers around the globe. Her first book ‘Islamic Feminism’ was published in 2020. In addition to this, she has been presenting research papers at various international and national conferences held in the United Kingdom, Canada, Qatar, New Delhi, and Indonesia.

Global Rising Beyond the Ceiling Team

Dr. Farah K. Usmani, President, Rising Beyond The Ceiling, New York
RBTC Coordinator United Kingdom, TBD
Contributors: Shaheen Usmani, Faiza Abbasi, Miriam Fozia Rahman, RBTC Kerala Team, Tazeen Beg, and many alumni and friends across the world

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