Zarina Varukatty is the President and Chief Operating Officer of the Women’s International Forum, a non-profit (501c3) and non-governmental organization since January 2019. WIF is a speaker’s forum affiliated with the United Nations with the objective of providing a space for the exchange of views on issues related to the work of the United Nations and its Sustainable Development Goals as well as the issues that affect the international community.
Ms Varukatty began her career as a TV journalist, working for Mediacorp News and ChannelNewsAsia in Singapore. In 1994, she joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore as a Foreign Service Officer. She served in the ASEAN Directorate at the Ministry (1994 to 1996) and served as First Secretary in the Singapore Embassy in Paris (1996 to 1998). In 1999, Ms Varukatty joined Singapore’s Central Bank, known as the Monetary Authority of Singapore, where she served as a Senior Analyst (1999 to 2004) and subsequently as a Consultant (2004 to 2006).
Ms Varukatty is the spouse of Ambassador Burhan Gafoor, Permanent Representative of Singapore to the United Nations in New York. She graduated with a Bachelor of Social Sciences with a double degree in Political Science (Honors) and Economics from the National University of Singapore in 1993. Ms. Varukatty speaks English, French, Malay and Tamil. She is a qualified yoga
teacher and takes a deep interest in understanding dyslexia and the learning difficulties of children. She also has a strong interest in gender issues and believes in the empowerment of women through engagement and education.