United Nations, Jul 23 (PTI) Former Indian diplomat Lakshmi Puri has encouraged girls and women across the world to break boundaries and be “truth-seeking, justice-seeking”, as the top UN leadership hailed her work and commitment towards gender equality and women’s empowerment.
UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said Puri’s leadership as former UN Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women has been crucial in integrating gender perspectives into the Sustainable Development Goals.
Puri’s “work shows that empowering women is not just a goal but a crucial part of sustainable development,” Mohammed said in a video message at a side event titled ‘Civilisational values and the UN: Women’s Resilience and Empowerment’ held in the UN Headquarters on Monday.
The side event featured a conversation with Puri, with a focus on her critically acclaimed debut novel ‘Swallowing the Sun’.
A veteran diplomat and ambassador, Puri has also served the UN for 15 years in various leadership positions.
Puri said her novel “very much encompasses all these themes of coming of age, an epic love story of young people and their transformative youth power. It’s also very much, at its heart, about gender equality and women’s empowerment”.
In response to a question on what advice she would give to young women and girls, like the novel’s central character Malati, across the world, Puri said, “I would very much like to tell women and girls that they have to become these phenomenal women and claim their rights, be the self and subject in all circumstances and rise above their circumstances, break boundaries.
“It’s very important that as Malati is in the book, that they should be truth-seeking, justice-seeking because she’s not only acting for herself, but she is also empowering others.” Mohammed said Puri’s novel “reflects her deep belief in UN values and gender equality. Drawing from personal historical stories, it resonates with the UN Charter’s purpose to help create a better world”.
President of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly Dennis Francis highlighted Puri’s “long and distinguished career” as an Indian diplomat and as an international civil servant.
Pointing to the ‘He For She’ pin he was wearing, Francis said it was not for tokenism. “This really is the way I feel. It is of little consequence and in fact, not in the interest of society or the economy that half the population should not be allowed to make the fulsome and comprehensive contribution that they can make to our modern civilisation.” Puri has been a staunch supporter of the ‘He For She’ campaign, the UN global solidarity movement for gender equality that aims to engage men and boys as agents of change by encouraging them to take action against inequalities faced by girls and women.
The event was organised by the Permanent Mission of Saint Lucia to the UN in cooperation with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), Diwali Foundation USA and UN Women; and support of the Permanent Mission of India to the UN.
Permanent Representative of Saint Lucia to the UN Menissa Rambally said the world today is experiencing times like never before.
“We continue to witness widening divisions…Especially given the reality around us, fostering a genuine culture of peace and promoting understanding between civilisations is a collective responsibility, both at the community level and for member states,” she said.
She added that the collective efforts of Member States cannot succeed without the active participation of women. “It is therefore timely to reflect on civilisational values and what role the UN can play in bringing people together to find solutions that move beyond our challenges and to advance initiatives for a better quality of life, no matter where you’re from on this planet.” Rambally said Puri’s contributions speak volumes and embody the essence of resilience and empowerment. Puri has used her “platform and made a career of seeking opportunities to support and empower women.” In a video message, UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous said empowered and resilient women are critical to society.
“They forge change, pass down strength and challenge social norms. From the indigenous women who are guardians of climate action, women first responders who are at the forefront of the crisis to young feminists fighting for democracy, time and again, women continuously fight for a world that is more just, sustainable and peaceful. Unfortunately, despite progress made over the past decades, much of which our colleague Lakshmi has also contributed to, we remain far from achieving our ambition,” Bahous said.
“We draw inspiration from countless women and girls, who despite immense challenges have risen to become leaders, innovators and change-makers. Just like the protagonist in ‘Swallowing the Sun’ book, their resilience shows what’s possible when women are empowered,” she said.
The event was also addressed by UN Under-Secretary-General UNAOC High Representative Miguel Ángel Moratinos, Chair of Diwali Foundation USA Ranju Batra and Indian-American attorney and Chair of National Advisory Council South Asian Affairs Ravi Batra.
A concept note for the event said that in her debut novel, Puri “brings her belief in the UN values of indestructibility of the human spirit, everything is a mission possible ethos and her convictions on gender equality and women’s empowerment”. PTI YAS SCY AKJ SCY SCY
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