Back in the 1990s when Noeleen Heyzer was in charge of Unifem, a United Nations agency that helped women, people meeting her for the first time would often be surprised.
"There was always a big joke that when I got down from the plane, people said, 'Oh my god, we thought that we were receiving this very tall, redhead woman, and here you come'," she says, laughing at the memory.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Read the full story and more at $9.90/month
Get exclusive reports and insights with more than 500 subscriber-only articles every month
ST One Digital
$9.90/month
No contract
ST app access on 1 mobile device
Unlock these benefits
All subscriber-only content on ST app and straitstimes.com
Easy access any time via ST app on 1 mobile device
E-paper with 2-week archive so you won't miss out on content that matters to you