Faced a lot of bias in world of diplomacy: Lakshmi Puri

New Delhi: Former Indian diplomat Lakshmi Puri, who also worked as United Nations Assistant Secretary General, on Monday said that in the world of diplomacy, she had to face a lot of bias for being a woman but she broke all the ceilings.
She said this during the ‘We Women Want Festival and Awards’ event organised by iTV Network at Hotel Taj Ambassador in New Delhi on Monday.
“During my time, I was negotiating with ASEAN countries and the Indian Ocean Rim Association. Everybody looked down upon it because a woman was doing it”, she said. “But today when I see these policies playing a crucial role in shaping our international relations, it gives me a lot of satisfaction” she added.
Recalling her meeting with Pakistan’s President Zia-ul-Haq, she said “President Zia came to power in Pakistan, when Indira Gandhi was our Prime Minister and Narasimha Rao was our Finance Minister. President Zia implemented many policies which restricted the rights of women. The Indian government decided to send a female diplomat to negotiate with Pakistan’s President.” Then she and the other Indian diplomats went to Nankhana Saheb to meet the Pakistani President. “When President Zia was greeting everyone, he was taken aback when he saw me. He never expected a woman diplomat. When they all started talking, I was writing the notes. But soon after, I was told Begum Zia was waiting on the other side and that I should go there and have tea. So the notion was men would do all the work and women would just sit mum”, she said.