Asian women from all walks of life came together yesterday to mark their achievements and inspire each other.

Stand-up comedian Shazia Mirza and novelist Preethi Nair joined delegates at the Women SPEAK Conference at the Cedar Court Hotel on Rooley Lane to talk about their life achievements and how they had got there.

Miss Mirza said she had really enjoyed the event and joked: "It is really great to see so many Asian women out of the house. And once you let them loose there is not stopping them."

The conference was funded by the Home Office and Government Office Yorkshire and Humber.

Salima Hafejee, director of Bradford Youth Development Partnership, introduced the speakers.

She said: "Today is a conference allowing Asian women to actually look at their role as citizens of Bradford, at their accountability, and the contribution they have made to the shape of the city.

"There are Asian women that have made it into sectors that are not the norm.

"What we are trying to do is encourage more and more Asian women to break through into areas that they would not normally consider."

Novelist and publicist Preethi Nair signed copies of her latest book, 100 Shades of White.

She advised the attendees to "dream big and dream in absolute technicolor".

Miss Nair, who is a winner of the Asian Woman of Achievement award, said: "Take it one step at a time and you will be amazed to see how things conspire to help you."

She said: "I love events like this because I think if I can inspire just one other person it makes a lot of difference."

Anne Griffin, project leader for BYDP, said: "The event went really well. I am disappointed that we do not have more people from the Council.

"I think that we have pulled together a challenging and interesting programme."

The founder member of community-based project Karma Nirvana, Jasvinder Sanghera, business mentor Zainab Yasmeen, and Nadira Mirza, deputy dean and head of School of Lifelong Education and Development at Bradford University, were also at the event.