April Snapshot: SEWA Bharat

Remembering Revolutionaries: The Legacy of Ela Bhatt

Smt. Elaben R. Bhatt, the founder of?Self-Employed Women's Association ?(SEWA), has touched the lives of many?through her silent revolution.??She was the pioneer to recognize that women in the informal economy were workers and formed their first trade union. She saw that around 50% of the workers in the informal economy were self-employed who needed access to?finance.

However, the banking system at that time did not think that they were “bankable”. This led to the formation of?SEWA Bank . It?aims?to reach the maximum number of poor women workers engaged in the informal economy and provide them with suitable financial services for socio-economic empowerment and self-development.?The formation of this bank?proved that poor self-employed women were good credit risks. Today we have flourishing micro-finance institutions and self-help groups (SHGs). Poor women are now considered eminently bankable. As SEWA's leader, Elaben?brought the self-employed, the home-based workers, the domestic workers, the informal wage workers, and many more into the ambit of the labour movement.

To honour?her life and legacy, India International Centre (IIC) in collaboration with SEWA Bharat organized?'Remembering Revolutionaries: The Legacy of Ela Bhatt' on 3rd April 2023. This event also coincided with the birth date of Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, who was a freedom fighter, social activist and champion of women's rights. Long-time friends and associates of Elaben, such as Devaki Jain, Renana Jhabvala, Indira Jaising, Vijay Mahajan, Savitaben, Kantaben and Martha?Chen shared their personal experiences of learnings and light-hearted moments with Elaben during this event.

The speakers talked?about the?immense contributions of Elaben and SEWA in enabling the recognition of informal women workers today and providing them with access to finance.?Her role in the microfinance movement and in establishing?WIEGO ,?a global network focused on empowering the poor working women in the informal economy to secure their livelihoods. Elaben's efforts in?facilitating poor working women?to connect with the complex judicial framework on several occasions were also spoken of.?During the event, it was also highlighted how both Elaben and Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay strongly believed in the economic empowerment of both men and women. Through this event, we paid tribute to two legendary figures in Indian history,?who dedicated their entire lives for the welfare of women.

Milestone: 51 Years of SEWA

On 12th April, 2023,?SEWA? marked its 51st anniversary. SEWA was born as a trade union of poor self-employed women in 1972, in the city of Ahmedabad, Gujarat. It grew out of the Women’s Wing of the Textile Labour Association, TLA, India’s oldest and largest union of textile workers. Since 1972, SEWA membership has grown at a steady pace and now stands at 2.5 million women workers across different trade groups such as home-based workers, domestic workers, agricultural workers, construction workers, street vendors, waste recyclers, and many others who often face invisibilization in our nation.

Along the way, our landmarks have included the?SEWA Bank , started in 1974, which gave birth to the microfinance movement across the world. It became a testament to the fact that poor women are indeed 'bankable' and can form their own bank. In 1996,?International Labour Organization ?recognized home-based workers as workers, thereby protecting them with basic labour standards. And in 2014, India passed the Street Vendor’s Act to recognize the concept of Natural Markets in cities, and the rights of vendors to earn their livelihoods in them. These significant victories, were the result of a long and tenacious struggle by SEWA, bringing visibility, voice, and validity to the work of women in the informal economy.

We continue to be committed to strengthening the SEWA movement by highlighting the issues faced by women in the informal economy at the national level and building its member organizations’ capacity to empower women workers.

Enabling Women To Become Drivers of Economic Growth: Key Recommendations From Our T20 Side Event

Despite women making notable strides in our society today, there exist several roadblocks that impede their complete involvement and impact on the economy. These obstacles range from the excessive caregiving responsibilities placed on women, longstanding societal expectations based on gender, to limited accessibility to technology and financial resources.?To shed light on these barriers and discuss potential solutions, on 22nd March,?SEWA?Bharat, along with?Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) ,?United Nations in India ?and?Asian Development Bank Institute ?held a T20 side event titled 'Women as Active Participants and Propellers of Economic Growth - Focusing on Livelihoods and Care Infrastructure.'?The event was graced by the presence of dignitaries from T20, G20, United Nations in India, RIS, think tanks and various?experts from the development sector.

This event entailed a fruitful discussion on care work, access to finance?and digital means,?addressing challenges related to?women's health, and so on.?Towards the end of the event, the key recommendations that emerged during the event were compiled and presented to the Chief Coordinator of G20, Mr. Harsh Vardhan Shringla.?The purpose of the document is to provide suggestions for?ways to increase women’s participation in the economy, ultimately translating into actionable points for the acceleration of gender-sensitive SDGs as part of T20.

Some of the recommendations from the event included?allocating budgets for more creches and child development centers that can improve overall childcare infrastructure. This will reduce women’s child-rearing responsibilities, thus allowing them to take up work.?To prioritize elderly care, an appropriate number of beds in community health centers and hospitals should be reserved. Another way to support their financial stability can be to institute universal social pensions.

Accessibility to clean water and sanitation facilities for every member of a household can reduce the unpaid care and domestic burden on women, who are primarily responsible for sourcing water for their homes.?As women are more vulnerable to unexpected shocks like the pandemic, resilience can be built through temporary interventions such as direct income support, and provisioning of family and child benefits that will reduce the social and economic costs for women.?The document containing all the recommendations is now available on our website: https://sewabharat.org/publications/.

Bringing Community Change Through Health-Related?Initiatives:??SEWA West Bengal and SEWA Punjab

A typical day in the life of an informal woman worker includes back-to-back work without adequate rest. Like most women, they too have to bear the dual burden of working for a wage and doing unpaid work at home, which includes domestic labour and caring for children.?Their busy schedules and limited time often result in neglect of their personal health and well-being. To address this issue,?SEWA Bharat ensures that health services are delivered equally and fairly to women in the informal economy through information dissemination, awareness generation, and service delivery mechanisms.

On 7th?April 2023,?SEWA West Bengal ?observed 'World Health Day' across the state. It coincided with marking the 75th anniversary of the World Health Organization, with the theme 'Health For All'.?In Lalgola district, this day was celebrated at the?panchayat office in the presence of?ASHA, ?ICDS ?workers and supervisors. Discussion centred around taking precautionary measures to prevent dengue?outbreaks and adopting an environmental management strategy to eliminate unnecessary containers that collect water (such as plastic jars, bottles, cans, tires, and buckets). In Raghunathganj and Suti districts, discussions were held with SEWA West Bengal members around best practices for mother and childcare, immunization and menstrual health management.

SEWA Punjab ?also held an event at Jagatpura, Mohali where it celebrated its efforts in improving the lives of informal women workers, be it through social security linkages, health interventions and improving infrastructural facilities. This was attended by community members, SEWA staff and government officials. SEWA Punjab's?consistent efforts were praised by the authorities as the team has?been successful in providing 1,800 women with COVID-19 vaccination, along with connecting several pregnant women with medicinal facilities during the COVID-19 crisis.