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Raje says award an honour for Rajasthan women

Special Correspondent

PHOTO: AP

WINSOME: Chief Minister of Rajasthan Vasundhara Raje after receiving "Women Together Award" at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Tuesday. PHOTO: AP

JAIPUR: Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje received the prestigious "Women Together Award" at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Tuesday to join the league of Nobel laureates, social workers and celebrities from the field of music and cinema.

Heba Abdel Latif of the UN Department of Political Affairs handed over the award to Ms. Raje for her pioneering initiatives among the weavers of Kota doria saris.

Those who received the Third Women Together Award, along with Ms. Raje, this year included Nobel laureates Shirin Ebadi and Wangari Maathai, artiste Yoko Ono, novelist Barbara Probst Solomon, TV producer Francine Le Frank, economist Isabel Estape and journalist Rosa Maria Calaf. The award comprises a trophy and a certificate.

Those who have received the award in the past include singer Shakira and Senator Hillary Clinton.

The Rajasthan Chief Minister was selected for the award in recognition of her "understanding compassion of the miseries of the citizens of Rajasthan as well as her long- lasting dedication to social causes".

Real claimants

Ms. Raje had initiated the setting up of "Fashion for Development" with the support of internationally reputed designer Bibi Russel to improve the skills of women weavers and artisans, make funds available to them and to profitably market their wares.

A visibly moved Ms. Raje termed the award an honour to the women of Rajasthan. Draped in a pink and gold gilded sari, Ms. Raje, who had received flak from her political rivals and moralists from within her own Bharatiya Janata Party for the catwalk she did some time back to promote the products of local weavers, talked about the "magic" of those who wove the fabric she was wearing.

"The fabric I am wearing today is an example of their magic," Ms. Raje said remembering the weavers and the women who constitute 1.30 lakh self-help groups in the State."They are the real claimants of this award. I am just their representative," she said. The past three years found considerable changes in the lives of ordinary women in Rajasthan. The women SHGs, which were dealing in micro-credit worth Rs.160 crore, had empowered the members and made them self sufficient, she said.

Ms. Raje also mentioned the contribution of Bibi Russel to the movement back home.

The master of ceremonies at the one-hour long programme was Maria Brenson, American actor and UNESCO ambassador.

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