Plans announced for UK's first women's mosque in Bradford

Bana Gora, the chief executive of the Muslim Women's Council

BRADFORD will be home to the UK's first mosque run by women, for women, it was revealed today.

Bana Gora, the chief executive of the Muslim Women's Council, made the announcement on the first day of the Daughters of Eve conference, which involved women from across the country coming together to discuss issues including Sharia Law and the portrayal of Muslims in the media.

Ms Gora said for the past year the Council has been looking at facilities in the city's existing mosques and this led to the Bradford Mosque Project.

She said: "The aim of the Bradford Mosque Project is to build a mosque for women, and run by women. It would be the first of its kind in the UK.

"Over the last year we have carried out a detailed audit of local mosques and found that the services offered by mosques were not always adequate for women.

"Rather than just complain, we decided to do something about it.

"We hope that this is something we can start in the next couple of months."

The keynote speaker for the event, w is Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, the first female Muslim cabinet leader

.She said the idea had already created some debate, such as whether women would be able to lead prayers in the new mosque.