Elaben Bhatt, noted Gandhian, leading women’s empowerment activist and renowned founder of the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), passed away in Ahmedabad recently. SEWA, one of the biggest women-led cooperatives and national trade unions with 2.1 million-strong membership across 18 states. SEWA represents the union of independent poor female textile workers in India.
Ela’s effective leadership of SEWA has earned her National and international appreciation. She believed that the poor do not need charity; they need an enabling mechanism to strive and come out of the vicious cycle of poverty and vulnerability. And this ideology helped SEWA to create a true and effective support programme for females who are among the country’s poorest and most marginalized section. Ela R.
Bhatt was born in a patriotic family of Gujarat in the year 1933. Her grandfather took part in the Dandi March with....
