SEWA Founder and Gandhian Elaben Bhatt Passes Away

Ahmedabad: Elaben Bhatt, well-known women’s rights activist, Gandhian and founder of SEWA Women’s Cooperative passed away in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. She was 89. 

The Magsaysay Award winner and Padma Bhushan awardee had recently stepped down from the post of Chancellor of Gujarat Vidyapith. She was also a part of Sabarmati Ashram Trust. She was a co-founder of Women’s World Banking (WWB), a global network of microfinance organisations. 

Taking inspiration from Gandhian philosophy, Elaben started the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) which later set up a cooperative bank in 1974 to help women fulfill their needs with small loans. Today, SEWA has its presence in 18 states while some of its units are abroad. The women’s self help association has a membership base of over 2.1 million poor, self-employed women workers from informal sectors. 

Elaben was born in 1933. She went to Sarwajanik Girls High school in Surat and later earned her degree from the MTV Arts College. Later, she obtained a law degree and joined the legal department of the oldest union of textile workers. The union, Textile Labour Association (TLA) was established in 1955.

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