"There was a drastic difference in the opportunities I had in receiving education and using it to make a career for myself than those my mother and grandmother had. The experiences of the women of my mother's generation in Britain and to some extent those of mine are the same that women here jave to go through," Blair said.

The book, was therefore, a saga of hope that change would soon come about here as it happened in UK, or for that matter Europe or the US not so long ago, she said citing struggles of women in the midst of poverty, honour killings, lack of opportunity and ostracism of widows.

Asked if she still nursed some unfulfilled ambitions, the mother of four, who has struck a remarkable balance between her professional and personal life, said "I will be on my deathbed with unfulfilled ambitions".

Helping women in this part of the world to achieve more economic independence and a better life was one of her ambitions, Blair said.