Ela Bhatt, founder of the NGO, the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), recalls an incident during Hillary Clinton’s 1995 visit to Ahmedabad.
“Does your mother-in-law treat you well, as you have only a daughter for a child?” a Kutch woman artisan of SEWA had asked Clinton who was then the First Lady of the United States.
Clinton’s eyes had opened wide with surprise at this typical Indian question which had puzzled her but had also roused her curiosity.
“The Kutch woman had asked Hillary that question because, in India, if a woman does not have a son, she is ill-treated by her in-laws,” Bhatt told DNA on Friday. “She was genuinely impressed when Hillary replied that she did not have any problems with her in-laws on this count.”
There were other incidents during Clinton’s other visits to SEWA offices in Ahmedabad and Mumbai later which had left her deeply moved. For instance, once she returned from a SEWA office misty-eyed because women artisans had sung for her the Gujarati version of ‘We Shall Overcome’.
“Things come full circle,” Clinton had said. “Hillary has always found time from her busy schedule for a visit to SEWA offices or for several informal interactions with women artisans to understand what affects them most or how they can be helped most effectively,” Bhatt said.
On Saturday, Clinton will be visiting SEWA’s retail outlet for traditional apparel, Hansiba Creations, on Napean Sea Road in south Mumbai. This time she is visiting as the US Secretary of State.
During the visit she will meet the Hansiba team, other stakeholders and at least five Gujarati artisans who have been taken to Mumbai from Kutch and Banaskantha.
“I was not surprised when Hillary’s office informed us earlier this week that she will be visiting us,” Bhatt said. “She has always found time for SEWA despite her busy schedule.”
Hillary Clinton’s continuous association with the NGO goes back several years.
She first visited the SEWA office in Ahmedabad in 1995 as the First Lady of the US. An open ground at the office is called Hillary maidan after the First Lady who had taken a liking to it and spent over two hours there meeting different women.
“Since then, we have been in touch regularly, in an effort to empower grassroots artisans and to ensure that the benefit of global trade reaches them,” Elaben said.
