Ela Ramesh Bhatt (b.1933) is an Indian labor leader. She is the creator of the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA,) a trade union representing independent, poor female textile workers in India. Her effective leadership of SEWA has earned her national and international appreciation.
Born in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Bhatt earned a bachelor’s degree in English in 1952 and a law degree in 1954, where she won a gold medal for her work in Hindu law. She joined the legal unit of India’s oldest union for textile workers, the Textile Labour Association.
In 1972, Bhatt founded SEWA and served as its secretary-general up until retirement in 1996. She established a SEWA cooperative bank in 1974 to offer small loans to poor women to launch their businesses. The union also provided financial and business counseling. By 2013, SEWA had become the most significant labor union in India with a membership of 1.2 million women.
Bhatt was also a co-founder in 1979 of Women’s World Banking (WWB,) a global network of microfinance establishments that support poor women. She served as its chairperson 1984–88.
Bhatt similarly served as a consultant to multilateral organizations such as the World Bank on matters regarding microfinance, banking, and anti-poverty initiatives.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Ela Bhatt
Every human being has something, a spiritual element, that makes them want to do better, to reach higher.
—Ela Bhatt
Out of all virtues simplicity is my most favorite virtue. So much so that I tend to believe that simplicity can solve most of the problems, personal as well as the world problems. If the life approach is simple one need not lie so frequently, nor quarrel nor steal, nor envy, anger, abuse, kill. Everyone will have enough and plenty so need not hoard, speculate, gamble, hate. When character is beautiful, you are beautiful. That is the beauty of simplicity.
—Ela Bhatt
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