Queen of Sheba, also known as Malkat Shva (Hebrew), Ge'ez, Malikat Saba (Arabic), and Nigist Saba (Ge'ez Ethiopic), was a woman of great power and significance according to ancient Middle Eastern and African lore.  She ruled the ancient kingdom of Sheba,  thought to be in either modern Yemen, Eritrea, or Ethiopia.  The Queen's story was passed down through Habeshan history, the Hebrow and Christian Bibles, and the Qur'an.  According to the Biblical accounts, the Queen of Sheba journeyed a great distance with untold treasures from her native land to meet with Solomon.  She was in complete awe of his wisdom and of the blessings bestowed upon his people by Solomon's God.  As a head of state in her own right, the Queen was hungry for knowledge about how to best provide for  her own people.  She soaked up Solomon's wisdom like a sponge and submitted to his Lord so that she might better serve her people and bless them as Solomon did his kingdom.  Ethiopian folklore additionally claims that Sheba bore a son named Menelik I by Solomon, thus initiating the first questionably traceable geneology of the Ethiopian imperial family.

In summary, the Queen of Sheba was the wise, powerful, nurting mother of a nation.  She sought spiritual guidance and fought to take care of her her people.  We can only strive to follow her example by valuing our female identity, finding strength in God, and taking care of those with whom we have a social contract to protect from harm and despair.

"No other popular heroine is so celebrated but so puzzling." 
-- Michael Wood, Author,  In Search of Myths and Heroes: The Queen of Sheba

The President of Iran stated yesterday that he will nominate at least three female ministers to his cabinet.  This seems

to be an effort to reach out to the activist women who have been a large part of the recent Tehran protests against his government.  If truly appointed, these women will be the first to serve in Iran's history as a modern republic.  Ahmadi-Nejad appears to be finally attempting to calm rioters by loosening restrictions on social freedom of the masses.

“We have opened the circle [of management] as far as it was possible for a president,” Mr Ahmadi-Nejad said in a televised address.

Some women's rights activists, however, see this presidential statement as a meaningless attempt at public satiation by an "illegal" administration falsely in power as a result of election fraud.  Additional dissent comes from religious clerics who will issue decrees against the political decisions of female cabinet ministers.

Two women have been nominated thus far and include Marzieh Vahid-Dastjerdi and Fatemeh Ajorlou.  Vahid-Dastjerdi

is a medical doctor and professor nominated to the health ministry, and Ajorlou is a PhD student of psychology and an MP nominated to the ministry of welfare and social justice.

Today WITNESS launched a new campaign - "Hear Us, Stand with Us" - and they need your help to spread the word!

Their partner Research and Advocacy Unit (RAU) will be presenting a video, Hear Us - Zimbabwean Women Affected by Political Violence Speak Out, to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) next month, and we want to show our support.

In 2008, political violence erupted throughout Zimbabwe as a result of highly contested national elections, leading to the abduction, rape, torture and abuse of over 2,000 women and girls due to their political affiliations. Local police and national leaders have ignored these women's pleas for protection, justice, and accountability. In response, RAU and WITNESS produced the video HEAR US, featuring four of these women who have come forward to demand justice from the Zimbabwean government and SADC.

Their goal is to gather 2,000+ messages of support for the women of Zimbabwe to present alongside the film at the SADC summit next month in Kinshasa. And we need you to help us reach that goal!

Please, go to the website - http://hub.witness.org/HearUsStandWithUs to sign the petition, record a video message of solidarity, or tweet the campaign!

Thanks!

What do you think?  Your feedback is welcome!  Email me at info@queenofshebafashion.com
 

From UNICEF:

"Starting today, MTV audiences around the world will see a new music video that aims to raise awareness about sex trafficking. Featuring the rock band The Killers, the video is an exclusive collaboration between UNICEF, MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) and the US Agency for International Development.

The track, Goodnight, Travel Well, is from the album Day & Age. The video is the second in a series of music video collaborations that highlight the danger and impact of human trafficking.

The series launched last year with an award-winning film - produced by MTV EXIT that featured the Radiohead single All I Need."

Queen of Sheba Fashion will soon be offering Mata Trade Indian clothing design imports in our online boutique.  These pieces are guaranteed to be Fair Trade items by the Fair Trade Federation.

We work hard to operate by Fair Trade Principles. This means that product producers are paid a livable wage in safe and fair conditions, and do their work at home and in small workshops rather than factories.  For those in India, services like on-site day-care, medical check-ups, and over-time pay are usually offered.

Fair Trade Combats Child Labor

Every year thousands of children migrate to the megacities of India to find work and send money back to their families.   Providing income to women at poverty level is a way to combat the problem of child labor at its roots.  The change can be seen not only in the life of the woman employed by Mata Trade co-op, but especially in the next generation, and the children the woman can afford to educate.

Fair Trade Links

Fair Trade Federation (http://www.fairtradefederation.org/)
Fair Trade Resource Network (http://www.fairtraderesource.org/)
Chicago Fair Trade (http://www.chicagofairtrade.org/)
Green America (http://www.coopamerica.org/)

Queen of Sheba Boutique:  http://queenofshebafashion.com

Queen of Sheba Fashion Boutique (queenofshebafashion.com) recently helped to complete the entrepreneurial funding requirement of a female clothing store owner in Tanzania.  Joyce Thomas is 57 years old and lives in Mwanza with her husband and five children between the ages of 19 and 26. Joyce has been running a clothes business since 2006 and currently earns about 250USD per year working 8 hours per day for 6 days a week. She requested and has been granted a loan of 400USD in order to purchase clothes in bulk. In the future, she plans to expand her business to support her family and contribute to the wealth of the community.

Queen of Sheba loaned funds to Joyce through the Sero Lease and Finance Ltd (SELFINA).  Selfina has taken a lead role as a pioneer of micro-credit in Tanzania through Micro-Leasing. The organization is engaged in the economic empowerment of women in Tanzania through the provision of a leasing and leaseback microfinance facility local to the area. Customs and traditions in Tanzania make it difficult for women to own land and assets, thus they are termed non-creditworthy by financial institutions. This leads to poor financial support and poor access to basic needs and services for women with low incomes. One of the primary advantages of micro-leasing is that it allows clients to use the equipment as collateral for future loans with SELFINA, thus enabling them to borrow larger sums in the future.

For more information about the Grassroots Business Fund and SELFINA, please go to http://www.gbfund.org/?q=node/32.

Queen of Sheba Fashion today fulfilled funding requirements of clothing store owner Filomena Silva Tique in Boane, Mozambique.  Filomena is single mother of two and also supports a nephew that lives with her. Filomena has been running her clothing and shawl business for five years.  She purchases materials in South Africa, so the cost of products depeds upon the Rand-Metical exchange rate.  Our loan will enable Filomena to purchase more materials in order to offer more products for business expansion.  In her personal life she wishes to complete the construction of her family's home when she is able to make enough money through her local business.

Hluvuko--Adsema is an organization that has partnered locally with Filomena and other business owners in order to facilitate microfinancing.  Their mission is to "improve the socio-economic conditions of the population in the Matutuine district and contiguous areas, providing sustainable services to low income people, considering the viability of the initiatives."  The Matutuine district is rural in nature, was severely affected by the civil war, and has a high incidence of HIV/AIDS.  For more information about Hluvuku-Adsema, they can be contacted via email at hluvuku-adsema@teledata.mz

Fashion is our passion, but women inspire us.

The mission of Queen of Sheba Fashion is to provide fun vintage-inspired fashions that fund the small businesses of women in developing nations.  A portion of all profits are used to empower women globally by giving them economic advantages otherwise unavailable in their homelands.  This aid comes in the form of low or no interest micro loans and the  purchase of their goods at fair market price.  Women are selected through nonprofit partners such as Kiva, Global Giving and World Vision based upon need, spirit of entrepreneurship and potential for community-nurturing social profit.

Our fashions are creative, eclectic and fun.  They are inspired by the women we love.

To view the Spring/Summer 2009 collection, go to http://queenofshebafashion.com.