Each year, with the support of our readers and communities, Asian Standard curates its Most Influential List to recognise British Asians who are shaping Kirklees and beyond, not always from the spotlight, but often from the frontlines of change.
This list is not exhaustive, nor does it claim to capture every individual making a difference. Across our communities, there are countless people leading, building, advocating and serving in ways that may never make headlines. Many operate quietly, driven by purpose rather than profile.
So why does the Influential List matter?
It matters because too often, influence is measured narrowly, by wealth, status or visibility alone. This list challenges that idea. It exists to spotlight leadership in all its forms; to share stories that inspire the next generation; to reflect the breadth of influence within our communities; and to ensure that those creating real, lasting impact are seen beyond their immediate circles.
The 2025 list reflects a year of challenge, resilience and transformation. From healthcare and education to business, technology, culture and grassroots action, this year’s honourees demonstrate how influence is exercised through service, innovation, courage and consistency. Some lead institutions, others lead movements. All are shaping lives.
At a time when representation and role models matter more than ever, Asian Standard’s Most Influential List is both a celebration and a record, capturing the people helping to define who we are, and where we are going.
Presented in no particular order, we are proud to introduce Asian Standard’s Most Influential of Kirklees, 2025.
Madiha Ansari: Giving voice to representation, culture and creativity in Kirklees
Madiha Ansari has emerged as one of Kirklees’ most influential cultural figures, using theatre, music and facilitation to create space for voices that have long been under-represented within the arts.
Born in Karachi and now based in Dewsbury, Ansari is a theatre maker, facilitator and cultural leader whose work bridges community engagement and professional practice. In 2018, after a career in education, she founded the Cultural Ecology Project, supported by Impact Hub Bradford. Through this initiative, she launched Culture 101, a programme developed in partnership with Bradford Producing Hub to support global majority women in accessing and sustaining careers in the arts.
Her influence extends nationally. Ansari co-founded and served as youth engagement officer for the Yorkshire Adabee Forum, where she led the organisation’s first national theatre tour, bringing Pakistan’s leading digital content creators to audiences across the UK. The project marked a significant moment in diasporic storytelling, blending contemporary digital culture with live performance.
Ansari is also the founder of the UK’s first South Asian women’s choir, a groundbreaking initiative that uses collective voice as both artistic expression and cultural solidarity. The choir has since gained national recognition and will later this year perform in unity with Far Cry Acapella, further expanding its reach. In a moment of historic significance, Ansari and members of the choir were also invited to sing at the coronation of King Charles III, reflecting the growing visibility of South Asian cultural contribution at the highest national level.
Alongside her creative work, Ansari is an ambassador for Lawrence Batley Theatre, advocating for inclusion and access within regional arts institutions. As a performer, she has appeared in theatre and television, most recently in the BBC crime drama Virdee.
Madiha Ansari’s influence lies in how she builds platforms, nurtures talent and ensures that culture in Kirklees reflects the diversity of the people who live there, not just on stage, but behind the scenes shaping its future.
Rashida Salloo: Championing South Asian women’s participation in sport, year after year
Rashida Salloo has become one of Kirklees’ most consistent and influential advocates for women’s participation in sport, using grassroots action to challenge barriers that have long
limited access for South Asian women.
For several years, Salloo has worked tirelessly to encourage women and girls to engage in physical activity across a wide range of sports, from football and tennis to rounders and recreational fitness. Her work is rooted in community need, addressing cultural, confidence and access issues that often prevent women from taking part. Through persistent outreach and inclusive programming, she has helped normalise sport as a space where South Asian women belong.
In 2025, her contribution was recognised nationally when she received the Muslim Sports Awards Female Sports Personality Award. The accolade reflected not a single achievement, but years of consistent effort, leadership and impact at grassroots level, work that continues to influence participation, wellbeing and representation.
Salloo’s influence is measured in people rather than profile. She has inspired women of all ages to try new sports, build confidence and prioritise their physical and mental health. Her programmes have helped create safe, welcoming environments where women feel supported to participate without judgement, often for the first time.
Her sustained impact has seen her recognised repeatedly on Asian Standard Kirklees’ Most Influential List, a rare distinction that underlines her consistency and relevance. While many initiatives come and go, Salloo’s work has remained steady, evolving with community needs while maintaining a clear focus on inclusion and empowerment.
In an industry where women, particularly from ethnic minority backgrounds remain under-represented, Rashida Salloo’s leadership demonstrates how grassroots action can drive meaningful change. Her influence continues to shape the local sports landscape, proving that long-term commitment, rather than short-term visibility, is what truly moves communities forward.
Noushin Raja: Leading with conscience, courage and global compassion
Noushin Raja has established herself as one of Kirklees’ most influential humanitarian voices, using leadership, sacrifice and relentless determination to ensure the world’s most vulnerable are neither unseen nor forgotten.
As founder and chief executive of Moonlight Trust, Raja has spent years mobilising grassroots support to aid those facing oppression, displacement and crisis across the globe. Since the charity’s inception, her work has been driven by a simple but powerful principle: that compassion must translate into action, even when circumstances make that work difficult.
In 2025, her influence has been most visible through Moonlight Trust’s response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Despite the significant challenges associated with fundraising during global economic uncertainty, Raja has helped raise more than £300,000, enabling vital support to reach thousands of displaced families and children. For many beneficiaries, that support has meant access to essentials, dignity and hope in the most devastating of circumstances.
Raja’s leadership is deeply personal. She is known for sacrificing her own comforts to ensure resources reach those who need them most, a reflection of her values rather than a gesture for recognition. Her tireless efforts include organising fundraising events, building alliances and engaging political figures to stand publicly alongside her causes, helping convert awareness into delivery and tangible outcomes.
What sets Raja apart is resilience. In the face of logistical, financial and emotional challenges, she has remained unwavering in her mission, using her voice and influence to advocate relentlessly for justice and humanitarian responsibility. Her ability to bring people together, from community members to decision-makers has been central to the charity’s impact.
Noushin Raja’s influence lies not in titles, but in lives changed. Through Moonlight Trust, she exemplifies how determined, values-led leadership from Kirklees can deliver global impact, proving that compassion, when matched with action, can move mountains.
Sofia Buncy DL, MBE: A steady voice for justice, youth and peace
Sofia Buncy DL, MBE remains one of Kirklees’ most influential and trusted community leaders, a figure whose authority has been built over decades through service, advocacy
and an unwavering commitment to social justice.
Already recognised previously as Asian Standard’s Most Influential, Buncy’s impact has continued to deepen rather than diminish. She is widely known for her pioneering work supporting Muslim women in prison, advocating for dignity, rehabilitation and faith-sensitive approaches within the criminal justice system. That work has placed her in the national spotlight, earning her multiple honours and cementing her reputation as a principled and effective changemaker.
Despite her profile and accolades, Buncy has remained firmly rooted in grassroots action. She continues to champion local initiatives focused on youth empowerment, social mobility and faith-led community support, ensuring that policy conversations remain grounded in lived experience. In 2025, she has been a prominent voice addressing the long-term impact of Covid on young people, highlighting issues around mental health, lost opportunity and inequality that continue to affect communities years after the pandemic.
One of Buncy’s most influential interventions in recent times came during heightened international tensions following air strikes between India and Pakistan. Recognising the potential for fear and division to spill into local communities, she worked to bring faith leaders together to issue a collective call for calm. Her leadership helped promote unity, reassurance and dialogue at a moment when tensions could easily have escalated.
As a Deputy Lieutenant, Buncy also plays a vital civic role, acting as a bridge between institutions and communities that are often unheard. Her influence lies in trust, earned through consistency, integrity and action rather than rhetoric.
Sofia Buncy continues to stand for peace, opportunity and inclusion, demonstrating how calm leadership and moral clarity can shape stronger, more resilient communities in Kirklees and beyond.
Shazia Azhar MBE: Leading with purpose, care and belief in every child
Shazia Azhar MBE is one of Kirklees’ most influential figures in education, a headteacher whose leadership has transformed lives, challenged expectations and created a lasting legacy of trust and aspiration.
As headteacher of Spring Grove Junior Infant and Nursery School, Azhar has built a school culture rooted in safety, ambition and partnership. In 2024, her work was recognised nationally when she received a Silver Award at the Pearson National Teaching Awards, reflecting her outstanding contribution to education and leadership.
Azhar made history as the first woman of Pakistani heritage to become a headteacher in Kirklees, a milestone that carries significance far beyond her own career. She believes passionately that all children, regardless of background or circumstance, can achieve their full potential when education is underpinned by encouragement, high expectations and strong role models. Central to her philosophy is partnership: between school, parents and the wider community.
Her responsibility towards staff, pupils and families is something she takes deeply seriously. Known for working tirelessly alongside them, Azhar has an exceptional ability to build trust, empower others and create environments where people feel valued and supported. In a fast-paced and often pressured society, she has become a safe base for many, a leader who ensures that aspirations are never lost, even in the most challenging circumstances.
Awarded an MBE for services to education, Azhar said she hoped the honour would “play a small part in inspiring others who have been told they can’t, that they can”. That sentiment defines her influence. Beyond education, she is also a published author, donating proceeds from one of her books to domestic violence charities, extending her impact into wider social change.
During 2025, Shazia Azhar continued to not only shape young minds, but to empower South Asian women in leadership, proving that representation, compassion and excellence can and should coexist.
Zulfaqar Faraz: Building Batley’s business ecosystem through connection and digital insight
Zulfaqar Faraz represents a new generation of influence in Kirklees, one rooted in
connectivity, digital knowledge and the power of bringing people together.
A former lawyer by profession, Faraz has successfully transitioned into the world of digital content creation and business advisory, using his analytical skills and strategic thinking to support entrepreneurs navigating an increasingly online economy. His work focuses on helping businesses understand how to use social platforms effectively, not for visibility alone, but for sustainable growth and meaningful engagement.
Faraz is the founder and driving force behind the Batley Entrepreneurship Club, an initiative that began as a simple idea: bringing local business people together over a cup of tea. In a remarkably short space of time, that informal gathering has evolved into a series of well-organised, high-attendance networking events, attracting entrepreneurs, start-ups and established business owners from across the area.
Through the club, Faraz has created a platform where businesses can connect, collaborate and access opportunities that might otherwise remain out of reach. His ability to curate conversations and foster genuine relationships has helped many local enterprises raise their profile, form partnerships and grow with confidence.
Beyond in-person events, Faraz regularly shares practical insights through his social media platforms, offering guidance on digital strategy, content creation and online branding. His accessible, no-nonsense approach has earned him a growing following among small business owners looking to demystify digital marketing and compete in crowded markets.
Zulfaqar Faraz’s influence lies in momentum. By combining legal acumen, digital expertise and community-led networking, he has rapidly built one of Batley’s most dynamic business communities — proving that influence does not always come from scale or seniority, but from the ability to connect people, ideas and opportunity.
Saf Bhuta: Quiet leadership shaping care, systems and outcomes in Kirklees
Saf Bhuta is one of Kirklees’ most influential, yet least visible, leaders, operating at the highest levels of local government while remaining firmly focused on people, outcomes and integrity.
As Service Director for Strategic Commissioning, Partnerships and Provider Services at Kirklees Council, Bhuta sits within the council’s executive leadership team, one of the few individuals from a South Asian Muslim background to hold such a senior strategic role in the borough. His influence lies not in public profile, but in the decisions, systems and partnerships that shape care and support for thousands of residents.
Bhuta brings a distinctive approach to leadership, rooted in systems thinking and the intelligent use of data, not as an end in itself, but as a tool to improve real lives. With more than a decade of experience across health and social care, he understands that quality improvement and safe, effective services are driven not by dashboards alone, but by how organisations humanise their work.
Before joining Kirklees Council, Bhuta worked for one of the world’s largest FMCG companies, gaining commercial and operational insight that continues to inform his public-sector leadership. That blend of private-sector discipline and public-service purpose has enabled him to navigate complex environments, commissioning frameworks and provider relationships with clarity and balance.
Bhuta is described as a leader who brings hidden experiences to the surface, ensuring that the stories of people using services are not lost within processes and structures. His work focuses on connecting intelligence with empathy, using insight to support continual improvement while keeping dignity, compassion and outcomes at the centre of decision-making.
Saf Bhuta’s influence is measured not by recognition, but by impact. Through strategic leadership, partnership working and a deeply human approach to systems, he continues to shape how care is delivered in Kirklees, quietly setting a standard for inclusive, thoughtful leadership in public service.
Riyaz Patel: Using insight, leadership and representation to shape the NHS from within
Riyaz Patel is a quietly influential figure within the NHS, whose impact has been built through expertise, credibility and a sustained commitment to representation and equity in
healthcare leadership.
With 17 years of analytical experience in healthcare, Patel describes himself as pragmatic, analytical and solutions-focused, qualities that have defined a career marked by both academic and professional achievement. He currently serves as Head of Supply Chain Analysis and Insights within the New Hospital Programme, contributing to one of the most ambitious infrastructure transformations in NHS history. His work supports decision-making at national level, ensuring that data, insight and intelligence underpin the delivery of future hospitals across England.
Patel’s influence extends beyond technical expertise. He has played a critical leadership role as co-chair of the National NHS Muslim Network, using his position to amplify Muslim voices within the health service and to advocate for inclusion, understanding and representation. At a time when workforce wellbeing and belonging are central to NHS sustainability, his work has helped bring visibility to issues often overlooked within large systems.
His contributions have been recognised nationally. Patel is the recipient of the Outstanding Achievement of the Year Award at the National BAME Health & Care Awards and has been named among the Top 50 Influential Muslims in Europe by EqualityX, honours that reflect both professional excellence and wider societal impact.
What distinguishes Patel is how he uses influence. Rather than seeking profile, he has focused on creating space for others, normalising Muslim representation in senior NHS conversations and ensuring that leadership better reflects the workforce it serves.
Riyaz Patel’s influence lies in credibility and consistency, shaping national programmes while quietly strengthening representation, trust and inclusion within one of the UK’s most vital public institutions.
Surjeet Notay: Keeping community values alive from behind the shop counter
For decades Surjeet Notay has been a familiar and trusted presence in Kirklees, a shopkeeper whose influence has been built not through status or title, but through service, consistency and care.
This year marks a major milestone: almost 50 years of keeping his family’s retail legacy alive. In an era when independent convenience stores have steadily disappeared, Notay has quietly revived the true spirit of the community shop. His store is not simply a place to buy essentials, but a space rooted in connection, trust and mutual support.
In recent years, as rising living costs have placed pressure on households, Notay has responded in practical ways, reducing prices where possible, offering discounts and ensuring customers are treated with dignity. He has also brought small moments of joy to the neighbourhood, introducing popular treats such as Dubai chocolate, creating talking points and giving locals something to look forward to.
But it is his generosity that sets him apart. Notay regularly donates food and offers discounted items to food banks and individuals in need, often without fanfare. He works long hours, not out of obligation, but out of commitment to the people who rely on him.
Beyond the shop, Notay’s influence is deeply personal. Alongside his wife, he is helping his seven-year-old daughter, Jeevna, pursue her dream of becoming a professional footballer. Born with a congenital leg deformity, a condition only discovered at birth, Jeevna’s arrival was life-changing for the family. Rather than allowing that diagnosis to define limits, Notay has chosen to centre possibility, encouragement and belief.
Surjeet Notay’s influence lies in everyday leadership, proving that community resilience is often built quietly, behind counters and through conversations. As he approaches 50 years of service, his story is a reminder that influence does not always shout. Sometimes, it simply shows up, every day.
Yunus Lunat: A trusted legal voice challenging discrimination and shaping national debate
Award-winning solicitor and partner Yunus Lunat has become one of Kirklees’ most
influential legal figures, widely recognised for his work tackling discrimination and advancing representation in workplaces and sport.
Lunat’s influence extends well beyond the courtroom. Through a series of high-profile cases and consistent legal success, he has established himself as a trusted expert voice for national and regional media on issues relating to employment law, equality and discrimination. His credibility is rooted in results and in a reputation for principled, forensic advocacy on behalf of those facing unfair treatment.
He made history as the first Muslim member of the The Football Association Council, breaking new ground in a space where minority representation has traditionally been limited. That role cemented his position as a figure willing to challenge exclusion not only through litigation, but also through leadership within powerful institutions.
One of Lunat’s most recent and widely discussed cases involved a festive workplace dispute, in which he acted for Hannah Iqbal, a document coordinator excluded from her employer’s Christmas activities because of her religion. The case centred on deeply offensive remarks made by a managing director, including references linking Islam to terrorism, language Lunat argued was intended to humiliate and stigmatise his client through Islamophobic tropes.
Lunat successfully negotiated a formal settlement, underlining the seriousness of the conduct and reinforcing the principle that dignity, respect and inclusion must be upheld in all workplaces. The case resonated nationally, highlighting how seemingly informal workplace culture can cross into unlawful discrimination.
What sets Yunus Lunat apart is consistency. Time and again, his legal victories have strengthened his standing as a credible authority, someone the media turns to not for commentary alone, but for insight grounded in lived cases and legal precedent.
Yunus Lunat’s influence lies in his ability to turn courtroom success into wider cultural impact, shaping conversations, protecting rights and ensuring accountability where it matters most.
Thank you to all our readers, who took the time to send in their nominations.
