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Gandhian, SEWA founder, and women’s empowerment activist Elaben Bhatt passed away

Highlights

• The recipient of several national and international awards, including the Padma Bhushan, the Ramon Magsaysay Award, and the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize.
• She was the Chairperson of the Sabarmati Ashram and recently resigned as the Chancellor of the Mahatma Gandhi founded Gujarat Vidhyapith.
• she became part of a group of world leaders called the Elders, founded by Nelson Mandela to promote human rights and peace across the world.
• She was also a member of the Rajya Sabha and the Planning Commission in the 1980s.
• She served in many international organisations, including Women’s World Banking, a global network of microfinance organisations, which she co-founded.
• She also served as an Adviser to the World Bank

SEWA

• SEWA is the largest organization of informal workers in the world
• It promotes the rights of low-income, independently employed female workers.
• Founded in 1972 by Gandhian and civil rights leader Ela Bhatt as a branch of Textile Labour Association (TLA), a labour union founded by Gandhi in 1918.
• SEWA Mahila Housing Trust, founded by Renana Jhabvala among others, created the Karmika School for Construction Workers in 2003 to help train women in the construction trades