Tory peer is UK’s most powerful Muslim lady

Tory peer Baroness Sayeeda Warsi has been named as Britain’s most powerful Muslim woman in an inaugural power list started by the by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission.

Thirty-seven-year-old Baroness Warsi, who is of Pakistani origin, is the Conservative party’s shadow minister for community cohesion and social action

The inaugural Muslim Women Power List 2009 includes Farmida Bi, a banking partner for Norton Rose LLP; Prof. Farida Fortune CBE, dean of dentistry and oral health at Queen Mary’s School of Medicine; Wasfi Kani, chief executive, Grange Park Opera; and Mishal Hussain, a leading journalist and news presenter at the top five. "I personally come from a family of all girls and was brought up to believe that anything was possible and being a Muslim woman should in no way be seen as a barrier but as an asset," Baroness Warsi said after the power list was revealed on Tuesday evening."I’m extremely proud to be named as the most powerful British Muslim woman and I’m sure my Pakistani origins, my strong faith, and my Yorkshire upbringing has played a huge part."