My father-in-law, Abdul Quddus, who has died aged 80, was for many years a senior education officer at Leeds city council. He and his wife, Parveen, were also social entrepreneurs, setting up secular organisations that focused on enabling all communities to participate fully in the city’s social, cultural and civic life.
During the 1980s and 90s, communities in Leeds originating from south-east Asia still had poor educational and work outcomes, with high unemployment and low-skilled jobs. Abdul worked to address that by securing government funding for and setting up Bangladeshi, Pakistani and other centres in the city, run by members of those communities and helping them access adult education, welfare and housing support. The centres were non-religious, with equal rights and responsibilities for women and young people.
