OUR hunt for the greatest Glaswegian of all time continues.

Who do you think should be number one?

Over the next few weeks, we will be revealing more men and women who have put Glasgow on the map through politics, the arts, business, science, sport and more.

Once all 100 have been revealed, it’s over to you – we will be launching a public vote to find out who you think should be crowned Greatest Glaswegian.

Today, we are profiling a group of young women, who could collectively scoop the title of Greatest Glaswegian for their tireless work fighting for the rights of asylum seekers, and an inspirational politician who became known as the Father of the Nation.

GLASGOW GIRLS

The story of the six secondary school pupils who, with the help of their teacher and community, forced the Home Office to end dawn raids on asylum-seeking families, is a tale of hope and friendship, of humanity and doing the right thing.

In 2005, Amal Azzudin, Roza Salih, Ewelina Siwak, Toni-Lee Henderson, Jennifer McCarron and Emma Clifford were pupils at Drumchapel High in the north west of the city.

The teenagers sprang into action when their friend, Agnesa Murselaj, a Roma from Kosovo, was taken away after a dawn raid by the UK Border Force.

Officers in bullet-proof vests had stormed the young girl’s home in the early hours, handcuffed her father and removed the terrified family in a blacked-out van to a detention centre.

Shocked by the brutal tactics employed, the schoolgirls set up their own campaign, petitioning the Home Office, meeting then First Minister Jack McConnell, and eventually forcing a change of policy and an end to dawn raids and the detention of children.

They were supported by a network of people, including fellow Greatest Glaswegian contenders Noreen Real and Jean Donnachie, who set up a dawn patrol at the top of the tower blocks.

(When they spotted the vans arriving, they called every asylum seeker in the building and told them to get out of their homes. As the officials went up in the lifts, the asylum seekers went down the stairs, out the back door and into a local community centre where they hid until the threat was over.)

The Glasgow Girls are now young women, forging ahead in their own careers and lives, clear-sighted and compassionate in their continued desire to speak up on behalf of those in need.

Emma is now studying politics and journalism at university; Jennifer is a nursery practitioner and a sergeant instructor in the Army Cadet Force; Agnesa is a carer and medical administrator and Ewelina married her childhood sweetheart and has two beautiful young children.

Amal graduated with a Masters in Human Rights and International Politics. She works for the Mental Health Foundation and has worked voluntarily in refugee camps in Greece.

Toni Lee is studying to become a nurse. Roza graduated in law and politics from Strathclyde University and is now working as office manager for Glasgow MP Chris Stephens. In 2016 she helped to get funding for scholarships for asylum seekers with the University of Strathclyde, the first institution in Scotland to offer such a programme. In 2017, she stood as a Scottish National Party candidate in the Glasgow City Council election. Both Amal and Roza have been honoured by the Saltire Society as Outstanding Women of Scotland.

Their story has been turned into a television film and a stage play, which continues to reach new audiences to great acclaim, inspiring new generations along the way.

Read more: Doctor Who Peter Capaldi and scientist Muriel Robertson up for Greatest Glaswegian title

DONALD DEWAR

Donald Dewar, who was born in 1937 and died in 2000, was Scotland’s first First Minister and is generally recognised as the architect of devolution.

Born and educated in Glasgow, at Mosspark Primary, Glasgow Academy and then Glasgow University, he made an outstanding contribution to Scottish political and cultural life.

In 1978 he won the Garscadden constituency in Glasgow and he became shadow Secretary of State for Scotland in 1983, shadow Secretary of State for Social Security in 1992, and the Labour Party’s Chief Whip in 1996. When Labour won the General Election in 1997, Donald became Secretary of State for Scotland.

An outspoken advocate of political devolution for Scotland within the United Kingdom, he was one of the leading lights in the Scottish Constitutional Convention, and as Secretary of State, he led the campaign for a “yes” vote in the devolution referendum. Donald was largely responsible for writing and then ensuring the passage of the Scotland Bill through the House of Commons. The Scotland Act was passed in 1998.

The new Scottish Parliament elected Donald Dewar to the post of First Minister in1999 and he became known as the ‘Father of the Nation’.

Read more: Reformer Mary Barbour and footballer Andrew Watson in running to be greatest Glaswegian

Discover the full list so far of contenders for Greatest Glaswegian at eveningtimes.co.uk