Tributes have been paid to a former BBC radio presenter and women’s refuge worker, Shamim Nawaz.

Shamim, 57, lost her battle with cancer on March 17 and was buried at Pleasington Cemetery following funeral prayers in Blackburn.

Shamim worked at the Asian Radio Programmes Unit for BBC Radio Lancashire and BBC Radio Manchester on a freelance basis from 1996.

She co-presented Urdu programmes with Mumtaz Hussain, Shakil Salam and Waqar Abbasi over a ten-year period from the BBC Lancashire studios.

Shamim Malik as she was known to many had reverted to her maiden name Nawaz in recent years.

She had also worked for Blackburn based women’s refuge group Humraaz as a Senior Project Worker since 2006.

She was described as "a joy to work with" and a much-loved presenter who injected her shows with "humour and wit".

She remained friends with her colleagues who paid tribute to Shamim.

Journalist Rahila Bano was the head of the shared Asian Radio Programmes Unit - BBC Radio Lancashire and BBC Radio Manchester between 1994 and 2000 and worked with Shamim for many years.

She said: "Whenever I spoke to her she would always end the conversation by sending her heartfelt prayers for me and my family.

"Now, all we can do is pray for her, whilst she looks down on us from the heavens with that beautiful smile.

“She was a kind, gracious and generous person and a loyal friend to many who now miss her so very much. The world is definitely a much poorer place without her.

“Shamim fought cancer bravely and we all thought she would make a full recovery however this wasn't possible due to complications which emanated from a late diagnosis, two years ago. 

“She never complained about her illness and always remained cheerful and upbeat. We were all very shocked when we heard she had passed away, so suddenly and so unexpectedly and are devastated.”

Mumtaz Hussain added: "Shamim's command of Urdu and dialects spoken in Pakistan and in India was excellent.

"She exuded warmth and listeners quickly took to her. She used to often mimic famous film dialogues which listeners loved and would often request.

"She was very talented and will be dearly missed."

Presenter Waqar Abbasi said: "Shamim was an angel, always kind, polite, respectful and caring."

Lancashire Telegraph:

Chief executive at Humraaz Support Services, Firoza Mohmed, said Shamim was "a larger-than-life character, an inspiration to many and a warrior woman".

Firoza said: “Shamim, our colleague and our dear friend, will be greatly missed, creating a huge void in our team as we come to terms with the loss.

“A magnet to the children in refuge she was funny, caring, supportive and extremely disciplined in all aspects of life. She had excellent work ethic and unbelievable life experience which we all learnt from.

“Shamim kept in touch whilst battling the cancer and was looking forward to returning to serve the women and children, many of whom attended the funeral and the memorial we held at our Community Hub which was attended by her family.

“She will always be embedded in our hearts and a soul we will all aspire to – ‘to God we belong and to God we return’."

Arjuman Alam who worked on the Bengali show ‘Shamoly’ said: "Whenever I used to visit Blackburn she was always there for me." 

Arjumand paid this tribute on behalf of all of Shamim's former colleagues at the BBC, with words from the poet Rabindranath Tagore.

‘She went away didn’t say where. She went don’t come to back. 
‘She sang something while she wanted to go-that’s why I am sitting in my own mind in Kusumbone.
‘She swept away like a wave
‘Went to the land of moonlight.’

Shamim leaves behind a son and daughter-in-law, two brothers and mother and dearly loved paternal aunt who lived with her.