Presented by:Submitted to:Shubham Choudhary

Kikani
(144153)

Prof. Rajesh

Introduction
TheSelf-EmployedWomen'sAssociationofIndia(SEWA)isatrade

unionforpoor,self-employedwomenworkersinIndia.
SEWAwasfoundedin1972bythenotedGandhianandcivilrights

leaderDrElaBhatt.
Thesearewomenwhoearnalivingthroughtheirownlabourorsmall

businesses.
SEWA'smainofficeislocatedinAhmedabad,Gujarat.
SEWAisstronglysupportedbytheWorldBankwhichholdsitoutasa

modeltobereplicatedelsewhere.

GandhianthinkingistheguidingforceforSEWAspoor,self-

employedmembersinorganisingforsocialchange.Theyfollowthe
principlesofsatya(truth),ahinsa(non-violence),sarvadharma
(integratingallfaiths,allpeople)andkhadi(propagationoflocal
employmentandselfreliance).
SEWAisbothanorganisationandamovement.
TheSEWAmovementisenhancedbyitsbeingasangamor

confluenceofthreemovements:
the labour movement,
the cooperative movement and
the womens movement.

History of SEWA
SelfEmployedWomen'sAssoication,SEWAwasbornin1972

asatradeunionofselfemployedwomen.
ItgrewoutoftheTextileLabourAssociation,TLA,India's

oldestandlargestunionoftextileworkersfoundedin1920bya
women,AnasuyaSarabhai.
TheinspirationfortheunioncamefromMahatmaGandhi,who

ledasuccessfulstrikeoftextileworkersin1917.

Goals of SEWA
SEWA's main goals are to organize women workers for

full employment and self-reliance.

SEWA aims to mainstream marginalized, poor women in

the informal sector and lift them out of their poverty.

The following eleven question have emerged from the

members and continually serve as a guide for all

members, group leaders, executive committee
members and full-time organisers of SEWA.
It is also useful for monitoring SEWAs progress and the

relevance of its various activities and their congruence

with members reality and priorities.

The Eleven Questions

of SEWA
Havemoremembersobtainedmoreemployment?
Hastheirincomeincreased?
Havetheyobtainedfoodandnutrition?
Hastheirhealthbeensafeguarded?
Havetheyobtainedchild-care?
Havetheyobtainedorimprovedtheirhousing?
Havetheirassetsincreased?(e.g.theirownsavings,land,house,work-space,tools

orwork,licenses,identitycards,cattledandshareincooperatives;andallintheir
ownname.
Havetheworkersorganisationalstrengthincreased?
Hasworkersleadershipincreased?
Havetheybecomeself-reliantbothcollectivelyandindividually?
Havetheybecomeliterate?
Questions1to7arelinkedtothegoaloffullemploymentwhile8to11arethoseconcernedwithSEWAsgoalof
selfreliance.Howevereachoftheseareinterconnectedtoeachother.In1998"aagewans"suggestedincluding
educationinthebroadestsenseastheeleventhquestiontobeaddressedbySEWA.

About Ela Bhatt

ElaRameshBhatt(born7September1933)isanIndiancooperative

organiser,activistandGandhian,whofoundedtheSelf-Employed
Women'sAssociationofIndia(SEWA)in1972,andservedasits
generalsecretaryfrom1972to1996.
SheisanLawyer,philanthropist.
FounderoftheSelf-EmployedWomensAssociationinIndia
FounderofIndiasfirstwomensbank,theCooperativeBankof
SEWA
MemberoftheIndianParliament1986-89
Gandhianpractitionerofnon-violenceandself-reliance.

Early life and background

ElaBhattwasborninAhmedabadinIndia.
ShehaddonestudiedinSuratfromsarvajanikGirlsHighSchoolfrom

1940to1948.
ShereceivedherBachelorofArtsdegreeinEnglishfromtheM.T.B.
College(SouthGujaratUniversity)inSuratin1952.
ElaenteredtheSirL.A.ShahLawCollegeinAhmedabad.In1954

shereceivedherdegreeinlawandaGoldMedalforherwork
onHindulaw.

Career
BhattstartedhercareerteachingEnglishforashorttimeatSNDT

Women'sUniversity,betterknownasSNDT,inMumbai.Butin1955
shejoinedthelegaldepartmentoftheTextileLabour
Association(TLA)inAhmedabad.
In1956,ElaBhattmarriedRameshBhatt.
ShewenttoIsraelwhereshestudiedattheAfro-AsianInstituteof

LaborandCooperativesinTelAvivforthreemonths,receivingthe
InternationalDiplomaofLaborandCooperativesin1971.

Awards
PadmaShri1985
PadmaBhushan1986
RamonMagsaysayAward1977
RightLivelihoodAward1984
NiwanoPeacePrize
DoctoratedegreeinHumaneLetters,Harvard

University2001
IndiraGandhiPrizeforPeace,Disarmamentand
Development2011
NDTV's25GreatestLivingIndianLegends2013

SEWA's Membership
StateMembership
Gujarat10,00,224
Bihar 82,460
Delhi 40,010
WestBengal(Murshidabadonly) 7,057
Rajasthan 37,000
Kerala 10,000
Uttrakhand 4,470
MadhyaPradesh 6,00,950
UttarPradesh 1,27,780
Maharashtra 4,500
Assam1,613
Meghalaya 400
Kashmir 212
Total 19,16,676

Sewa Services
SEWABank
HealthCare
ChildCare
VimoSEWA
LegalServices
CapacitybuildingofSEWAmembers
HousingandInfrastucture
VideoSEWA

Thank you