Ela Bhatt, Renowned Advocate for Women's Empowerment and Founder of SEWA, passes away aged 89

By: WE Staff | Thursday, 3 November 2022

After a brief illness, Elaben Bhatt, 89, a well-known Gandhian, prominent advocate for women's empowerment, and well-known founder of the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA), passed suddenly on Wednesday in an Ahmedabad hospital.

She was honoured with numerous national and international awards, including the Padma Bhushan, the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize, and many others. She was known throughout the world as a woman leader who established numerous institutions and did ground-breaking work to organise the informal sector for self-employment and the empowerment of women, not only in India but throughout South Asia.

Chancellor of Gujarat Vidhyapith, which Mahatma Gandhi created, Elaben recently announced his resignation. Previously, he served as Chairperson of Sabarmati Ashram.She joined the Elders, a group of world leaders established by Nelson Mandela to advance human rights and world peace, in 2007.

In the 1980s, she served as a member of both the Indian Planning Commission and the Rajya Sabha. She held leadership positions in a number of international organisations, notably Women's World Banking, a global network of microfinance organisations, which she co-founded. She spoke before the UN General Assembly and served as a consultant for the World Bank.

She founded SEWA in 1972, and it is now one of the biggest cooperatives working for women, with more than two million members hailing from roughly 18 States across the nation and neighbouring countries.

Hillary Clinton, the country's secretary of state at the time, commended her in 2012. Ela Bhatt, who founded the SEWA organisation in India many years ago, is one of the heroes and heroines Ms. Clinton mentioned in her statement.

Elaben was born on September 7, 1933, in Ahmedabad to socially active parents. Her father, Sumant Bhatt, was a lawyer who worked as a district judge before being named the Charity Commissioner for Gujarat and Bombay, where he oversaw the activities of all NGOs, trusts, and charitable organisations.

Her mother, Vanalila Vyas, formerly held the position of secretary for the Gujarat chapter of the All India Women's Conference. Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay started the group in 1927, and it advocated for social and educational changes.

She received the condolences of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Sad to know about the death of Elaben Bhatt. She will be remembered long for her work for the promotion of women’s empowerment, social service and education among the youth. Condolences to her family members and admirers,” Mr. Modi tweeted in Gujarati.

On his Twitter account, Rahul Gandhi also sent a message of condolence: “Saddened by the demise of noted activist and Padma Bhushan awardee, Smt. Ela Bhatt. She devoted her life to Gandhian ideals and transformed the lives of millions of women, by empowering them. My heartfelt condolences to her near & dear ones, and her many admirers.”

Mallikarjun Kharge, the president of the Congress, Bhupendra Patel, the chief minister of Gujarat, Ashok Gehlot, the chief minister of Rajasthan, and numerous other prominent figures offered their condolences on her passing.