In news– Elaben Bhatt, 89, a noted Gandhian and a leading women’s empowerment activist, passed away recently.
A brief note on her-
- Ela Ramesh Bhatt was an Indian cooperative organiser, activist and Gandhian, who founded the Self-Employed Women’s Association of India in 1972, and served as its general secretary from 1972 to 1996.
- A lawyer by training, Bhatt was a part of the international labour, cooperative, women, and micro-finance movements.
- Elaben was born on September 7, 1933, in Ahmedabad, in a family that engaged in social causes.
- Her father, Sumant Bhatt, was a lawyer who served as a district judge and was later appointed the Charity Commissioner for Bombay and then Gujarat, where he supervised the work of all charitable organisations, trusts and NGOs.
- Her mother, Vanalila Vyas, served as secretary of the Gujarat branch of the All India Women’s Conference for some time.
- The organisation, founded by Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay in 1927, worked for educational and social reforms.
- She is the recipient of national and international awards, including the Padma Bhushan, the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize and Right Livelihood Award.
- She was globally recognised as a woman leader who founded many institutions and carried out pioneering work in organising the informal sector for self-employment and empowerment of women not only in India but across South Asia.
- Elaben was the Chairperson of Sabarmati Ashram and recently resigned as the Chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi-founded Gujarat Vidhyapith.
- In 2007, 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 of the Planning Commission of India in the 1980s.
- She served in many international organisations, including Women’s World Banking, a global network of microfinance organisations, of which she was co-founder and had served as Chairperson.
- She also served as an advisor to the World Bank, and addressed the United Nations General Assembly.
- Founded by her in 1972, SEWA is one of the largest cooperatives working for women, with a base of over two million members from around 18 States in the country and in neighbouring nations.
Source: The Hindu
