AN Old Trafford woman has worked tirelessly to integrate Asian women into the community.

Asifa Ahmed, chairperson of Asian Community Equality (ACE), aims to build up trust and break isolation between Asian women and other areas of the borough.

ACE, based at Addison House, on Addison Crescent, which has recieved funding from the council and Manchester’s Community Foundation, provides a place for women to meet and participate in exercise classes, English lessons and stress busting sessions.

It also helps the women understand other cultures by marking festivities such as Eid, Divali and Christmas.

A key way in which Asifa, 49, has broken down community barriers is by working with police to encourage women to report crime if they are a victim of it.

Police have met ACE members, including on Tuesday, and distributed key telephone numbers, advice leaflets and personal alarms.

Asifa, who fouded ACE five years ago, said: “We want to reach out to women who may suffer at the hands of domestic violence and we want them to know they can go to the police.

“If these women don’t have a voice we won’t be aware of their problems.”

Police also met with the Asian Ladies 50+ Group (ALG), a day centre based at at Harry Lord House, on Humphrey Road, and conducted surveys to measure public confidence and satisfaction.

The survey indicated that police needed to forge better relations with the Asian community.

A GMP spokesperson said: “The NPT attended the group meeting to improve relations and build confidence in their police force so that they feel more inclined to report crime or submit intelligence to us.

“We also find that, sometimes, Asian communities feel less inclined to fill in the surveys and give feedback so officers encouraged people to fill in the surveys.”

The officers who attended, Sgt Debra Rasmussen, and PCSO Sanjay Chauhan, as an interpretor, encouraged the group to use Smart Water, a property marking system for returning recovered stolen property, and got a 100 per cent take up.

ACE meets on Tuesdays from noon to 3.30pm and on Thursdays from 11am to 3.30pm and all are welcome to attend.