Nabeela Ahmed is a writer, multilingual poet and spoken word artist. She has been running The Pahari-Pothwari Literature Project to gather new writing in the language, working with adults across Bradford and two Bradford secondary schools: Carlton Bolling and St Bede’s and St Joseph’s Catholic College.  

According to the 2021 census, 25.5% of Bradford is of Pakistani heritage. Nearly 70% of those are Kashmiri/Pothwari and speak the invisible Pahari-Pothwari. Written literature in Pahari-Pothwari is rarely seen in Bradford and elsewhere – through this project, two anthologies of new writing in Pahari-Pothwari have been produced, with translations in English.

Nabeela’s project culminates in a showcase event at Bradford 2025’s own venue Loading Bay, with spoken performances and anthologies available for purchase. 

This project is supported by the Bradford 2025 Artist-led Project Awards programme.

Find out more about this programme and the projects we’ve supported below.