Razia Ismail, former social worker, women’s rights campaigner and proud UNISON member, has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for her outstanding social and community work.
After qualifying from Birmingham Polytechnic in 1989, Razia (pictured above) began her career with Sandwell Council as a community social worker and later joined Birmingham Social Services. She took her studies further to research the impact of domestic violence on children.
During her social work career she was passionate about raising awareness within the South Asian community – particularly among women – about social and cultural issues affecting their quality of life.
In 1997, Razia extended her social work knowledge and skills to the local community by founding a voluntary organisation in Birmingham called Aaghee, meaning ‘awareness’.
Razia retired from social work in 2015, but as chair of Aaghee she continues to provide a safe and supportive space for women to understand and express themselves. It is for the valuable work of this organisation that she has been recognised with an MBE.
