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UNDEF beneficiary elected Mayor of Ahmedabad

A graduate of an UNDEF-funded project for women’s empowerment in India has been elected Mayor of Ahmedabad, a city with a population of six million. Meenaxiben Patel, elected Mayor in April 2013, participated in a training and capacity-building programme funded by UNDEF and implemented by the New Delhi-based Centre for Social Research before being elected. Active in politics and civil society organizations for over 15 years, Ms. Patel described the UNDEF-funded programme as essential in providing leadership, lobbying and management skills, adding:.  "These types of training will help in empowering women, and result in them actively participating in politics -- which is very much necessary in a country like India."