Anwar Ditta

Rochdale

1953–63, 1975–2021

Anwar Ditta was born in Birmingham and grew up in Rochdale, Greater Manchester with her younger sister and parents. Her father, Allah Ditta, was a teacher and migrated to Britain in the 1950s. His wife, Bilquis Begum, joined him a few years later. In 1962 Ditta’s parents divorced and subsequently, when Ditta was 9 years old, she and her sister were sent to live with her grandparents in Jhelum, Pakistan.

In 1967 14-year-old Ditta was married to Shuja Ud Din under Islamic law. Between 1967 and 1975 they had three children. In 1975 Ditta decided to return to Britain. Ditta chose not to travel with her children until she remarried Din under British law. Soon after settling in Rochdale, Ditta and Din had their fourth child.

In September 1976 Ditta and Din applied for their children to join them in the UK. It took two years for the Home Office to make their decision, and in the meantime Ditta began a campaign to be reunited with her children. The Home Office concluded that they did not believe the children were Ditta’s because Din and Ditta stated they were single on the application form, given the couple’s understanding that their Islamic marriage would not be recognized under British law. Despite the submission of a plethora of evidence, the Home Office did not overturn their decision.

In November 1979 at an anti-deportation campaign meeting for Nasira Begum and Nasreen Akhtar in Longsight Library, Ditta responded to the organizers who asked if anyone required support for their immigration case. Ditta shared her case, and the attendees organized a defence committee, catalysing the growth of her campaign. This grass-roots collective action was necessary, given the lack of support from local Liberal politicians who were in power in Rochdale.

The Anwar Ditta Defence Campaign brought together a wide-ranging coalition of organizations, including OWAAD, Southall Black Sisters and the Anti-Racism Committee of Manchester City Labour Party. Significant support came from the Indian Workers’ Association (IWA) and Asian Youth Movement (AYM). Ditta was eager to create a unified coalition across the political spectrum and recognized that mass mobilization was key to the campaign’s success.

Ditta shared her experiences at 400 meetings, conferences, student union gatherings and demonstrations across the UK between 1979 and 1980. She also collected donations and petition signatures in Rochdale town centre every weekend. During her campaigning, Ditta was subject to racial abuse and verbal attacks. She was also unable to keep her job at Marks and Spencer’s factory, resulting in financial pressures. Ditta subsequently worked as a homeworker, sewing pillowcases for the NHS from home. Publications such as Spare Rib shared details about donating to the campaign, as well as where demonstrations were taking place. On 15 November 1980, for example, a national demonstration took place in Rochdale where Jayaben Desai spoke.

In April 1980 the Home Office allowed Ditta to appeal their decision. However, by July, the appeal was denied on the grounds of inconsistencies in the case. The Home Office’s decision invigorated the campaign further with a new legal team led by Ruth Bundey and Ian McDonald, who represented the Mangrove Nine. Moreover, political activists became allies to the cause. For example, the Irish political prisoner Bobby Sands, who led hunger strikes to resist British military activity in Ireland, wrote a poem about Ditta’s case.

The 1981 Granada TV World in Action television documentary titled ‘These Are My Children’ marked a turning point in the campaign. The documentarians visited Ditta’s children in Pakistan along with her lawyer Ruth Bundey. As part of their trip, Bundey collected the children’s DNA so they could use blood testing to prove Ditta and Din were their parents. This would mark the second time blood testing was used in a British immigration case. The Home Office overturned their decision a day after the documentary aired, given that the blood test unequivocally proved Ditta was the mother of her children. In April 1981, Ditta and her children were reunited in the UK.

Ditta continued her work as a political activist after the successful conclusion of her campaign. This included attending the 1981 Women’s World Congress in Prague, marching with Tony Benn during an anti-apartheid protest in Trafalgar Square in 1982 and campaigning for the Bradford 12.

Anwar Ditta died on 23 November 2021.