Ananna

Bangladeshi Women’s Project

In 1989 Dr Shireen Sobhani and Nurjahan Ahmad co-founded the Ananna Bangladeshi Women’s Organization, formally known as the Bangladeshi Women’s Project. Ideas for an organization that served newly settled Bangladeshi women living in Longsight developed in the late 1970s when Sobhani, a medical doctor, recognized the acute health issues facing Bangladeshi women. These women often struggled to cope with the changes that accompanied their migration and settlement and required targeted assistance.

Sobhani joined the Bangladesh Women and Children’s Association, which aimed to support local Bangladeshi women and children. However, according to Sobhani, the Association’s committee was male-dominated and failed to recognize the importance of engaging with women to identify and address their specific needs. In response, Shireen and Ahmad ran a community consultation at Longsight Library, which revealed that Bangladeshi women were eager to be part of an organization run by women from the community. In response, Sobhani and Ahmad approached Manchester City Council for funding and created a steering committee with the support of social services, local women councillors and community leaders.

In 1986, when 13-year-old British Bangladeshi pupil Ahmed Iqbal Ullah was murdered at Burnage High School in Manchester, Bangladeshi mothers expressed their concerns to Shireen about sending their children to school, fearing they would also be subjected to racial violence. Moreover, for women who knew Ahmed and his family, mental health support became necessary. This catalysed the creation of a Bangladeshi women’s centre which meaningfully served their needs.

The Bangladeshi Women’s Project was founded in 1989. Its first location was in Longsight Social Services, where the organization had an office. It subsequently moved to the Neighbourhood Centre on Slade Lane in Longsight in 1990 and became an independent organization, offering advice on immigration, housing and employment, as well as activities such as English as a Second Language (ESOL) classes, sewing classes and mother and toddler sessions.

As Manchester’s Bangladeshi community grew, it became increasingly important to have larger premises to accommodate additional services. With the support of various funders, the Bangladeshi Women’s Project was able to purchase its current location in 1997. In 1999, at its annual general meeting, the organization changed its name to Ananna, meaning ‘unique woman’ in Bengali.

Despite the generations of women who have used and benefited from Ananna’s services, and the ongoing demand to meet the needs of a growing and diverse Bangladeshi community in Manchester, the organization has faced the threat of funding cuts. However, Ananna remains in operation, offering a variety of health and social activities and accredited training programmes which support local British South Asian women and their families.