SEWA founder, women’s rights activist Ela Bhatt passes away.

November 4, 2022

Renowned women’s rights activist Ela Bhatt, the founder of SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association), died due to age-related issues.
Bhatt (89), a Padma Bhushan recipient, was a pioneer in the field of women’s empowerment and had received international recognition due to her work.
Bhatt is mainly known for her work through the Self-Employed Women’s Association or SEWA, a trade union of women working in the unorganised sector, which now has two million members.
Bhatt was born in Ahmedabad on September 7, 1933. After a short stint as a college teacher, she joined the legal department of the Textile Labour Association (TLA), one of the oldest unions of textile workers in Ahmedabad, in the 1960s.