My narrative about Situ would remain incomplete if I did not write about the woman she was. As the ambassador to Indonesia, Salma Khan demonstrated to the international community that women in Bangladesh could rise to the highest levels, not only in politics, but also in the government sector. Having worked in the CEDAW Committee for over 12 years, she left her mark in the UN human rights system. She distinguished herself as the first Asian chairperson of the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). She became the founder chairperson of NGO Coalition on Beijing Process (NCBP), a network of 624 NGOs working towards the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. Her attributes were recognised at international forums. Apart from exceptional courage, her greatest quality was that she did her homework and articulated her viewpoints forcefully and persuasively. She was always unafraid to act I closely observed her in meetings where she took on a horde of men resisting her ideas. As a member of the Planning Commission, she was instrumental in mainstreaming gender issues in the macro framework of the country's Five-Year Plans.
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