Speakers at Dalhousie University

Ela Bhatt Speaks at Dalhousie University

On November 14, 2006, Ela Bhatt spoke to the Dalhousie University community about her work with SEWA – the Self-Employed Women’s Association. SEWA is based out of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India and is the largest trade union in the country. SEWA started in 1974 with 4000 women who contributed ten rupees to get a loan program started. As the Founder of SEWA, Ela Bhatt has helped change the lives of more than 800,000 women directly; and many more women, children and families indirectly through micro-credit loans. Through loan programs, SEWA’s members are able to develop income earning opportunities in areas such as vegetable and garment sales, in-home sewing initiatives, bidi rolling, and construction work.

During her talk at Dalhousie, Ela spoke of the challenges women face in the context of globalization and inequality. She also highlighted the achievements of the women of India in spite of these broader structural challenges.

Ela Bhatt was in Halifax for the Global Microcredit Summit in November 2006. The Department of International Development Studies (IDS) is grateful to Ela for her insightful comments and for her time. The talk was part of the Global Development Seminar Series hosted by the IDS Department; co-hosted with the Gender and Women’s Studies program; and was made possible by the financial contributions from Lester Pearson International.

Ela Bhatt is author of We Are Poor But So Many: The Story of Self-Employed Women in India, Oxford University Press, 2006.

"From a miserable passive acceptance of all the injustices, SEWA women, by organising themselves, have attained the courage to stand up and fight, the ability to think, act, react, manage and lead. Self-reliance is what they ultimately want. There is no development without self-reliance. But there is no route to self-reliance except by organisation."

- Ela Bhatt

For more information about Ela Bhatt and her work, please see the summary.