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Comic star Meera is named as an 'inspiration'
Jan 10 2005
Comic actress and writer Meera Syal (above) has been named the UK's most influential black or Asian woman.
The Walsall-born star of The Kumars at No 42 came top in a list of women who have achieved a great deal in their lives and inspired others.
The list was drawn up by Good Housekeeping magazine which than asked an expert to decide on the final 20 places.
"Her comedy series Goodness Gracious Me (which won her the British Comedy Award for Best Comedy Series in 2002) brought Asian humour into the mainstream and helped challenge Asian prejudice and stereotyping," the magazine said of Ms Syal, aged 42. Baroness Valerie Amos, only the third female leader of the House of Lords, was second in the list.
She was chief executive of the Equal Opportunities Commission between 1989 and 1994 and has advised the South African government on human rights and employment.
Third is Britain's Olympic golden girl Kelly Holmes who won both the 800 metres and 1,500m at the Athens Games and capped an incredible year by becoming a Dame in the New Year's Honours list.
"After an incredible double victory at last year's Olympics she became an inspiration for everywhere, proving that hard work and determination can pay off," said the magazine. The remainder of the top 20 include black and Asian women from various walks of life such as Doreen Lawrence, in eighth place, whose campaign to seek justice for her son Stephen's murder led to a watershed in race relations.
The musical world is represented by violinist Vanessa Mae (11) while daytime TV chat show host Trisha Goddard (12) was judged a high achiever in entertainment.
Other women in the list are Olympic heptathlete Denise Lewis (14), former athlete Tessa Sanderson (16) and novelist Zadia Smith (19).
Krishnan Guru-Murthy, a presenter of Channel 4 News, said: "This list of black and Asian women isn't tokenism. And it isn't merely political correctness. It's no less than these women deserve for succeeding over and above their indigenous counterparts."
The final list was compiled with the help of Dr Val Singh, a senior fellow at the Centre for Developing Women in Business Leaders at Cranfield School of Management.
