Ela Bhatt, founder of Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA), died in Ahmedabad on Wednesday due to age-related issues. She was 89.
A Padma Bhushan recipient, Bhatt was a pioneer in the field of women empowerment and had received international recognition due to her work.
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“It is with profound grief that we announce the death of our beloved and respected founder, Smt. Elaben Bhatt, a pioneer in advocating for women workers' rights, we strive to carry her legacy forward,” SEWA Bharat tweeted.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi also condoled her death.
"Sad to know about the death of Elaben Bhatt. She will be remembered long for her work for the promotion of women empowerment, social service and education among the youth. Condolences to her family members and admirers," Modi tweeted in Gujarati.
Bhatt is mainly known for her work through SEWA, a trade union of women working in the unorganised sector, which now has two million members.
Bhatt was born in Ahmedabad on Sept. 7, 1933. After a short stint as a college teacher, she joined the legal department of the Textile Labour Association, one of the oldest unions of textile workers in Ahmedabad, in the 1960s. Her association with the TLA led her to organise self-employed women who worked in textile markets.
In 1972, SEWA was established with Bhatt as its general secretary.
SEWA's work gradually expanded to cover the poor women working in other unorganised sectors too. It also started a cooperative bank and pioneered the microfinance movement.
Bhatt, who was inspired by Gandhian ideals, also served as chancellor of Gujarat Vidyapith, a university founded by Mahatma Gandhi, till October this year before resigning on health grounds. She had been nominated to the Rajya Sabha and also served on the Planning Commission.
Bhatt was also one of the founders of Women's World Banking, Women in Informal Economy: Globalising, Organising, and International Alliance of Home-based Workers.
Besides the Padma Bhushan and the Ramon Magsaysay award, she had also received the Right Livelihood Award, Niwano Peace Prize and Indira Gandhi International Prize for Peace. She had also been a member of The Elders, a group of global leaders including Nelson Mandela and former US president Jimmy Carter that aimed to promote peace.
She is survived by her two children -- Amimayi Potter and Mihir Bhatt -- and four grandchildren.
“One fails to not only put her in a category to address, but one also fails to find words potent and pithy enough to describe and approximate her work and thoughts,” her grandson Rameshwar Bhatt said.
She lived by Gandhian principles all her life, he said.
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