A TV presenter, keen dancer and GLA candidate for the Women’s Equality Party, Anila Dhami wants to bring confidence to women in Havering.

Born and bred in Rainham, Miss Dhami, 24, is one of 10 candidates standing as representative of the newly formed party for the Greater London Authority (GLA) elections in May and hopes to give “a new angle to politics”.

“We can’t change an entire nation with only half of the population on board,” said the UK presenter for the Indian television channel ZEE TV.

Miss Dhami explained her party is “all inclusive”, addresses both men and women, and attracts people from all backgrounds, ages, and abilities.

“Every man has got a woman in his life somewhere, who deserves equal opportunity,” she told the Recorder.

Graduating with a masters degree in philosophy, Miss Dhami explains having nourished an interest in women’s studies during her time at university.

She joined the Women’s Equality Party shortly after it was formed in March last year.

The journalist believes women sometimes find it difficult to get into work because of unsocial hours and expensive child care.

“I want to see more women putting themselves forward for leadership roles - and particularly into tech and science, which are up and coming areas,” she said.

One of her key priorities is to work to reduce the pay gap between men and women.

“Women are still paid on average 23 per cent less than men – this has cost the economy billions of pounds in 2015,” she said.

Ending violence against women is another important issue for the former Rainham Chafford School pupil, who wants to end the “objectification” of women and enable anyone “to walk down the streets and feel safe”. She believes this can be done through education.

A keen dancer, Miss Dhami used to teach Bollywood to young girls at the Havering Asian Social and Welfare Association in Elm Park and took time at the end of her class to talk about any issues girls could face.

“They were quite shocked sometimes but I think it has given them quite a good grounding and improved their confidence. By the end, everybody loved coming and speaking at the end of the class,” she said.

Miss Dhami, who described herself as coming from a working class background, encouraged women in Havering to look for different opportunities outside the borough and their local area.

“I want to use my platform (TV) to educate and inspire people to bring positive change and raise consciousness about these issues,” she said.

Miss Dhami is not standing for any particular constituency but will be representing her party in the GLA elections.