THEY are the women history had forgotten.

They have lived their lives, helped make big changes to our city, and then been ignored.

But now, for the first time, a book of their stories has been launched.

She Settles in the Shields, tells the tales of 20 women who came to live in Pollokshields in the 1960s and 70s.

It is a collaboration between the Glasgow Women's Library (GWL) and Pollokshields Development Agency, and the hope is the book will fill the vacuum of women's voices in the city's history.

Syma Ahmed, 35, started her research in 2007 when she became the black and minority women's development worker at the GWL.

She said: "It's all about documenting women's history and acknowledging their efforts because most often women's history goes unrecognised."

Syma approached Pollokshields Development Agency on Kenmure Street, a centre offering counselling and languages services as well as a base for migrant women's groups.

There she met sessional worker Shamaaila Nooranne, 51, who introduced her to women willing to share their stories.

Syma said: "We thought we would start with Pollokshields because it was a popular area for South Asian migrants to settle.

"They moved into Pollokshields because it has big houses and villas and the South Asian families lived together and that accommodated that."

But the book, which is 170 pages long and jam-packed with old and recent pictures of migrant women and their families, is not just about South Asian women.

Syma, Shamaaila and their team recorded the oral histories of women from places like the Middle East, Afghanistan, Lithuania and China as well.

Most of the women arrived in the 1970s when the Government said migrant men working in the UK could bring families over to live.

And Glasgow came as quite a shock to some.

The first person Syma interviewed was her grandmother, who arrived in the city in the 1960s with her husband and small children.

Syma said: "They came from a village in Pakistan to Glasgow city.

"They moved to Paisley Road West in Govan and the house looked down on the pub and the kids had never seen anyone drunk, and they were like, 'What's happened to those people?'

"We are on the fourth generation now because I have nieces and nephews."

The book is split into chapters that follow the women's progress, from living in their home countries to travelling, arriving and living in the UK.

The women speak about seeing snow for the first time as well as the different fashions and foods and the warm welcome they received from the locals.

Syma said: "We asked the early migrants what they packed in their suitcase and they said they thought about what they were going to wear and what they were going to eat over here.

"They brought pans and bowls and when they came here they found it difficult to find things like spices, but now everything is available."

Many of the women gave their histories in their own languages which were translated then transcribed and checked with each person.

Syma said: "They were brave women and they had a lot of courage and they didn't have the same opportunities and luxuries that we have.

"The whole essence of the publication is about documenting it but also celebrating their efforts and Pollokshields and Glagow as a whole."

Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Glasgow Life and the Coalition for Racial Equality (CRER) the book has been published by the Glasgow Women's Library.

It is available to buy for £9.95 from the GWL website and a copy of it will be made available in all Glasgow libraries.