Naseem Akhtar BEM has never waited for permission to lead. She saw what was missing—safe, welcoming, culturally rooted spaces for women to move, connect, and thrive—and she built it.
Raised in Birmingham, with roots in Kashmir, Naseem’s journey has always been shaped by community. For over two decades, she has worked at the grassroots—listening, gathering, organising—and in doing so, she has quietly reshaped the landscape of women’s health, sport, and wellbeing in the city and beyond.
What began as a small, local project grew into Saheli Hub—a vibrant, women-led organisation that puts marginalised voices at its centre. Through sport and movement, Saheli Hub offers more than just fitness. It offers joy. Belonging. Sisterhood. And a model of inclusion that challenges the status quo—not with noise, but with care.
Naseem speaks clearly and unapologetically about the barriers women face, particularly those from ethnically diverse backgrounds. Her work invites women into spaces once closed to them and shifts the system around them in the process. She doesn’t just make room—she reimagines what that room looks like, and who it’s built for.
The impact of Saheli Hub has been deeply felt—from city parks to national policy spaces. Under Naseem’s leadership, it has grown into a movement that mentors new leaders, builds local confidence, and proves that equity isn’t theoretical—it’s physical. It’s lived.
More recently, Naseem has extended Saheli Hub’s model to support men in underserved communities too—offering movement and wellbeing sessions shaped with the same cultural sensitivity and deep community trust that define all her work.
The recognition has followed. But for Naseem, the reward isn’t in awards. It’s in seeing women walk taller, speak louder, and take up space—together.
