New Delhi, July 20 (Inditop.com) US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Monday said it was “so moving” for her that Ramilaben, a woman she had met in Mumbai, had been unanimously elected as president of the Gujarat-based Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) by its 1.2 million members.
“It was so moving for me that just a few days ago in Mumbai I met a woman who was elected the president of this organisation (SEWA) with 1.2 million member… I said (to Ramilaben) you have become the president and I did not. So I am congratulating you for your accomplishment,” Clinton told reporters here.
Clinton had met Ramilaben Saturday at Hansiba, a handicraft outlet of SEWA in south Mumbai.
The senior-most US diplomat said she found it “interesting” that SEWA members were working with women from Pakistan.
“They (Pakistani women) are coming for training and learning how to make earnings and to make better lives in their own country,” said Clinton.
Clinton’s association with SEWA dates back to 1995 when she met Ela Bhatt and Reema Nanavaty, the founders of the organisation. Since then, she has made several visits to the NGO’s offices in Ahmedabad and Mumbai.
The Hansiba brand is a revolution inspired by Hansibaben, SEWA’s first rural artisan, who, through her courage and determination, inspired SEWA and showed the way to thousands of rural women to pull themselves out of poverty.
Hansiba belongs to STFC (SEWA Trade Facilitation Centre), a not-for-profit company jointly owned and managed by over 3,200 rural artisans. Right from the raw material stage to the finishing touches, the entire supply chain is made up of rural women.
All Hansiba products are hand embroidered and hand crafted. Sixty-five percent of all sales go directly to the artisans, who are the shareholders of the company.
