US diplomat Nikki Haley says her mother couldn’t be a judge in India because she was a woman

Nikki Haley is the first Indian-American to be appointed as UN ambassador


News Desk March 30, 2017
US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley addresses the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference. PHOTO: AFP

Nikki Haley, the US permanent representative to the United Nations, said on Wednesday that her mother was not allowed to be a judge in India because she was a woman.

Answering questions about the role of women at a meeting of the council on foreign relations she said, “When you didn’t have a lot of education in India, my mother actually was able to go to law school. And she was actually put up to be one of the first female judges in India, but because of the situation with women, she wasn’t allowed to sit on the bench,” she said when answering a question about the role of women at a meeting of the council on foreign relations.

“But how amazing for her to watch her daughter become governor of South Carolina and US ambassador to the UN,” she added.

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Haley’s parents, Ajit Singh and Raj Kaur Randhwa immigrated from India in the 1960s.

Addressing a question pertaining to the Trump Muslim ban, Haley said, “I am the proud daughter of Indian immigrants, who reminded my brothers, my sister and me everyday how blessed we were to be in this country.”

She went on to say that she believes that the fabric of America is legal immigration and this is what makes the US so fantastic.

While admitting that the countries on the ban list are Muslim majority countries, Haley denied that Trump’s attempt to restrict people coming in from the six countries was based on religion.

“I don’t think that’s what this is,” she said. “If that were the case, there are another dozen, you know, Muslim countries that could have been on the list.”

“We will never close our doors in the US. We won’t. But what we did do was take a pause.” Further adding that nothing should be banned based on religion.

In order to improve the vetting procedure, Trump placed a temporary ban on people from six Muslim countries, including refugees, from entering the US.

“This is not about not wanting people in,” she said adding that it was about keeping the 'terrorists' out.

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She went on to narrate a story about her husband, Micheal Haley, who helped two Afghan interpreters and their families immigrate to the US when he was serving as a captain in the Army National Guard in Afghanistan.

She elaborated that the only difference was that the two families were properly vetted but that this would not be possible in all refugees cases and as such the administration only stopped the process until the problem could be resolved.

A US court, however, has stayed Trumps orders temporarily banning people from six Muslim countries coming to the US.

This article originally appeared on Hindustan Times.

COMMENTS (6)

R S Chakravarti | 6 years ago | Reply @savvy: Earlier she was in the Kerala High Court.
Komal S | 6 years ago | Reply India has had women judges since early 20th century. Of course goes without saying women find it hard in traditionally male dominated profession. She did not say anything wrong and probably her mom did go through challenges. She is just stating a fact. Only thing wrong in this article is the sensational headline in a Pakistani newspaper.
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