A WOMAN whose mum was murdered by her son-in-law has drawn on her past struggles to set up a women’s empowerment group.

Samina Mahmood started a group called Empowering Women based in Accrington for women to come together and tackle mental health issues.

They also run charity events for community cohesion and networking for professionals.

It comes after Mrs Mahmood’s battle with depression throughout her rocky first marriage, followed by her mum’s murder by Muhammed Arshad. The story hit national headlines in 2003 when Zainab Begum went missing from her home in Burnley Road, Accrington.

Police discovered that Arshad had murdered the 56-year-old and his brother-in-law Mohammed Khan – helped dispose of the body.

After dismembering the body, the brothers disposed of her remains, the whereabouts of which are still unknown today.

Mrs Mahmood said: “I set the group up because there wasn’t a group for women to not only talk but network and also run events and charity fund-raisers.

“My mum had severe depression and I suffered it for years too. Not having her around has been difficult, and my mental health took a tumble while trying to piece her disappearance together initially.”

In the hours after her disappearance, Mrs Mahmood said the day was surreal. She said: “My younger sister came back from school and couldn’t get into the house.

“We searched all night for her. A friend helped me, and we didn’t sleep, because I was so worried, it was so unlike her not to be home.

“They never got on with her and she didn’t like them. Arshad was rude to her and didn’t acknowledge her at home. I knew something was wrong with the way they were acting when she went missing.”

Arshad wanted to remain with his wife in Mrs Begum's Accrington home, but Mrs Begum moved back into her home, forcing Arshad to move to Manchester with Mohammed Khan.

Eventually the truth came out when her sister helped police get hold of Arshad’s phone password, allowing them to read texts to Khan about the murder.

But Mrs Mahmood had known all along it had something to do with them. She said they had wanted to buy their own takeaway with the money from the house.

After they were caught out, Arshad told the court lies about his mother-in-law's attempts to seduce him. Desperation had led him to fabricate stories. He was found guilty of murder and jailed for life, whilst Khan was jailed for seven years and deported.

Mrs Mahmood had been struggling with mental health during the breakdown of her 18-year marriage, which left her with financial difficulties and estranged from her sisters.

She said: “I wanted children and he didn’t so it became the peak of my depression then, and by this time mum had died and I was just missing her.

“Nobody helped me at that time, because women didn’t ordinarily step out of their comfort zone. I want to stop women being forced into marriages and to be independent.”

The Women Empowerment group meets at Accrington Library on Wednesdays from 1 to 3pm. Anybody is welcome to attend the group, who also regularly meet up with Sarah Subhani’s Backburn women’s forum.