Inspirational stories by 20 Muslim women from Bradford were brought to life last night in a project to give a voice to marginalised communities.

Women between 14 and 80 who wrote Our Stories, Our Lives were at the book’s launch at the National Media Museum to read extracts.

Their contributions included stories from the first women who came to Bradford from Pakistan in the 1960s to the experiences of life in Britain as a Muslim woman post 9/11.

Contributor Radhia Tarafder, 40, of Heaton, Bradford, worked with historian Irna Quereshi to tell her story.

She said: “Irna drew out really unique parts of everybody’s lives and we found that, although we all had the experience of being Muslim and in Bradford, there were also such differences. It was fascinating.”

Fellow writer Symia Merali, 35, talks about her choice to wear the traditional Muslim hijab headscarf when she began to discover her Muslim faith.

She said: “Writing was a really good experience because it was not meant to be a book at the start but it has grown because everyone’s stories have been so interesting.”

The book was edited by Wahida Shaffi, a conflict resolution trainer from Heaton, Bradford, who is also co-ordinating a ten-year project to explore the views of Muslim women in the city.

Bradford University graduate Ms Shaffi said: “It shows the pioneers from the first generation of Muslims, who talk about the racism when they first got here, to the later generations and their experiences of being a modern day Muslim woman.”

Keighley MP Ann Cryer was among dignitaries at the launch event.

Mrs Cryer, who campaigns against forced marriage in the Muslim community, said: “I want to hear the voices of Asian women, because you don’t hear them enough. There are some male leaders of the Muslim community who seem determined to keep them quiet and I want to encourage and support those voices and hear them for myself.”