Kashmiri and Pakistani women and children in Bradford joined forces to help victims of the South Asian earthquake.

The Daughters of Kashmir, which is based in Bradford, and the Asian women's charity Al-Masoom International Trust held a fundraiser yesterday at the Karmand Community Centre in Barkerend Road.

And both groups hoped that the event would give Asian women an opportunity to show their support for such an important cause.

One of the organisers Shamaila Khanum, 24, explained that the idea behind The Daughters of Kashmir was to encourage Asian women to come together and to work together to set up a network.

"Women rarely come out the house for causes like this so we wanted to give them a chance to show their support."

A team of six workers from Al-Masoom, which is based in Manchester, have visited the disaster struck region and they shared their experiences with women at the event. The team not only provided hands on relief for the survivors of the earthquake but they were also able to take out truck loads of aid that had been donated.

Miss Khanum is hoping that The Daughters of Kashmir can work in a similar capacity to Al-Masoon in Bradford and that eventually similar groups will be set up across the country. At the moment the group is waiting for confirmation of its charitable status for the Charity Commission.

"We felt that it was important not to miss the opportunity to do something to help people affected by the earthquake and allow women in the community to get involved," said Miss Khanum.

There were a variety of events put on over the course of the afternoon by women across the district including face-painting, glass painting and henna-painting.

The event was supported by local businesses who helped to put on stalls and provide refreshments.

The Lord Mayor of Bradford Councillor Valerie Binney attended the event as the chief guest.

Funds from goods sold at the event were donated to Yorkshire Kashmiri Community Forum which is planning to re-build a village in Azad Kashmir. The forum also held a fundraising dinner yesterday evening with 500 people from across the country in attendance.