The Lord Mayor of Bradford is among a select group of inspirational women invited to attend the Women Of The Year awards.

Councillor Naveeda Ikram will join 400 influential women later this month at the annual dinner in London, which celebrates achievements across a number of fields. As the country’s first female Muslim lord mayor, she was picked in recognition of her work in politics and achievements in campaigning.

The mother-of-three entered politics in 2004 when she was elected to represent Little Horton, making her the first British Pakistani woman to be elected to Bradford Council. In 2007 she was one of two Bradford councillors picked for an 18-month programme, Next Generation, designed to identify future leaders. She became Deputy Lord Mayor in 2009, and was installed as the district’s first citizen earlier this year.

Coun Ikram has also been recognised for her work in campaigning, which includes founding the aid charity Bradford Unites In Disaster, and helping to raise more than £45,000 and a six-tonne consignment of food, clothes and medicines for Pakistan’s flood victims.

She is also a patron of the Hepatitis C Trust in Bradford, a supporter of the British Red Cross, Cancer Research UK, Edhi Welfare Association and Behbude Khawateen – a development project for women in Pakistan.

Coun Ikram said: “I am delighted to be invited to attend the annual Women Of The Year Lunch. It is an honour to be recognised in such a way and I hope I can inspire other women to get out there and achieve whatever they may desire.

“I hope that by being invited to this prestigious event, along with many other inspirational women, I can raise awareness of my aim to be a positive ambassador for Bradford.”

The event takes place on Monday, October 17, at the InterContinental Hotel in London.