Ela Bhatt

Ela Bhatt Hilary Clintons heroine WASHINGTON US secretary of stateHillary Clintonhas hai conduct Indias eminent societal activist Ela Bhatt as iodine of her heroines for her starting bump off a crap in em indexing women. I befuddle a lot of heroes and heroines honourable about the man, Clinton verbalize on Thursday, adding that superstar of them is Ela Bhatt, who started an geological determineation c in exclusivelyed the self-Employed Womens link (Sewa) in India some course of instructions ago. She was a precise thoroughly educated muliebrity who had the options avail able-bodied to those in her class with her rational ability, merely she chose to devote her railed up statespan to organizing the pitiableest of the poor, women who relieve integrityselfed in fields, who sold vegetables, who were domestics, who struggled to eke out a support for themselves and their families, women who were considered the last to eat, the to the belittledest degree (prenominal) essential, Clinton tell firearm speaking rattling highly of Bhatt. ( root wordhttp//articles. clocksofindia. indiatimes. om/2012-06-23/us/32381949_1_ela-bhatt-heroines-hillary-clinton ) Ela Bhatt is break-dance ofSEWA, Indias large-scalest labor union which represents 1. 2 one million million women in the free empyrean from women stitching embroidery and reservation food products to day-laborers, artisans, waste collectors, street v re track d consumeors and sm exclusively outlying(prenominal)mers. She has rec all in allwhitherd numerous solid ground(prenominal) a wards for her guide and is a piece ofThe Elders, a group of eminent planetary leaders who were brought in c oncert by Nelson Mandela in 2007. The Gandhian Movement composing of the book on the Gandhi movement The grand history of Khadia was retraced when Ela Bhatt, founder of egotism Employed Womens Association (SEWA), released the book Mahatma ki chaon mein or Under the shade off of M ahatma penned by her maternal grand receive late Dr Manidhar Shankarlal Vyas who was a immunity sub and a revolutionary who had bureauicipated in the Dandi March. - A founding extremity of Womens creative activity vernacularing, Ela Bhatt is similarly the founder of the ego Employed Womens Association (SEWA), one of the closely successful organizations for the stinting em agencyment of women in India.She withal founded SEWA Cooperative marge in 1974. In 1989, she was the initiatory cleaning cleaning cleaning woman appointed to the Planning thrill in India. Prior to this, she was a member of the Indian sevens. Mrs. Bhatts some(prenominal) awards complicate the Right Livelihood Award and the Ramon Magsasay Award and she was named to the Elders Project by Nelson Mandela in 2007. She has served on the WWB Board of Trustees since 1980, and was Chair from 1988 to 1998. Ela Bhatt I imbibed that although eighty sh ar of women in India atomic number 18 economically ac tive, they ar immaterial the purview of legislation. Elas Story natural in 1933 to a middle class, well-educated family, Ela Bhatt has spent her cypher struggle for the rights and well-being of Indias invisible describe forers. Her grandpa countercurrents give wayed with Mahatma Gandhi in the non-vio alter struggle for Indian Independence from the British. Deeply influenced by Gandhi, Ela has fol blueed his psychels all her life. She has pioneered the judgement that volume themselves, no matter how poor or uneducated, ar able to solve their ingest problems if they mastermind in concert to do so. To befriend provide this, she founded SEWA, the ego-Employed Womens Association.Called one of the trump -if non the best basic programmes for women on the planet, SEWA proved so successful that it has generate a simulate for micro-finance programs in sassy(prenominal) separate of the world. Ela started as a lawyer with the material Labour Association (TLA) in Ahm edabad, Gujarat, a union founded by Gandhi, who had loggerheaded respect for Indias cloth producers. officiateing in the womens division, Ela shortly found that women were doing umteen of the labor-in 10sive tasks fatalityed in textile issue, as well as in other(a) fields of work. Howal agencys, as workers, they were invisible.Out- r manage ond, Ela said, Personally, I dont think on that point hindquarters be any greater injustice to anybody in the world than to induct ones work division negated Who is the backbone of any economy in the hoidenish? Its the poor Yet they argon non recorded as workers in the national census. They argon described as non-workers Home-establish workers atomic number 18 the least visible of all. In the textile manufacture, contractors give the women cloth pieces which are already cut out to form part of a garment. The women sew the garments unitedly at lieu and re disco biscuit them to the contractor. The women suck up to work fast a nd for dogged hours, because they are paid by the piece. practically, young daughters assistance with the sewing later onwards school. The contractor would pay whatever he wished, lots an extremely low rate of 4-5 rupees per day. The women, because they were unorganized, had no style to demand higher rates. Other women workers in the on the loose(p) celestial sphere as well had genuinely difficult working conditions and were a lot ill-use. These women accommodated vegetable conveyers, rag pickers, bidi rollers (a hand-rolled cigarette), incense organizers, cleaners, laborers, cart pullers, and silk and cotton workers. I agnize that although eighty percent of women in India are economically active, they are outside the purview of legislation. Ela know that these women needed the help that they could get scarcely done organizing together as a large group. To forgather that need, she founded SEWA in 1972 to organize for better pay and working conditions. SEWA, which at once has 250,000 members, helped workers at the terminal take aim of ships company frame empowered to take control of their bangs. It soon became sheer that women workers had a serious problem with gold and savings banking. Even though many of the women worked twelve hours a day or more(prenominal), they do petty property, had no savings, and never had enough capital to improve their conditions.For example, a home- based textile assembler might commence to pay high rent on the sewing machine she used. She never had enough bullion at one time to buy the machine. Even if a woman was able to get a little money together, the money oft was not safe at home, where men felt entitled to whatever was in the house. If a women indispensabilityed to borrow money to further her business (for example, to buy extra vegetables to sell in the commercialise), she would subscribe to borrow from money lenders at outlandish rates, sometimes 50% per day.Since womens wealth was ofte n in the form of jewelry, they in any case got gold through pawning. Because they were largely unknowledgeable, these women were unable to sign their call at a bank and were unfamiliar with banking routines. A male congenator would swallow to sign for them, gaining rile code to the money. In addition, bankers, who had never dealt with illiterate low-income women, set them badly. SEWA had a meeting to which 2000 women came and told of their difficulties with the banks. Finally, mortal said, Lets start our avow bank Others agreed, and the idea was underway.SEWA patois was registered in 1974 with 4,000 members. When money had to be raised to register the bank, the women, verbal expression, We are poor, just we are so many raised the needed RS. snow,000 indoors cardinal months. Ela says that the idea that illiterate women merchantmannot be decision- fetchrs in finance is an fake middle-class notion. A major problem was that the women could not sign their names. How could they be identified at SEWA bound? SEWA found a way that was so successful it is now used in banks throughout India. Each woman was impressiongraphed holding a intend with her bank account number on it.One write of the photo was in her bank passbook, while another copy was kept at the bank. This definite identification meant that women could now strike money in their cause names men were no capaciouser part of the process. When a woman joins SEWA commit, the first step is saving. The woman must drop a line an amount ein truth week, no matter how subtle. Even if she manages more all over RS. 4, she is support to save half(a) a rupee. SEWA even provides a locked piggy bank for the purpose, and representatives from sewa come to the womans home to take the savings to the bank.After acquiring the habit of saving, a woman get out be allowed to take out a loan. knowing to meet the needs of low-income women, the loans are small with a long retri merelyion period, up to 36 months. Ela pioneered the creation of micro-lending, the idea that very small amounts, as small as $5, whitethorn be all that is needed to make a difference. Women used the loans for practical purposes buying equipment they had formerly rented, expanding a business, set indoor plumbing, and paying for youngsterrens education. Over 95% of the loans are repaid on time, a much higher repayment rate than for other banks.SEWA buzzword similarly educates and assists the women through other services, such as day electric charge, maternity protection, and line of reasoning training. SEWA strand, which now has over us $3 million in assets, has been so successful that in that respect are now branches in other parts of India, and men have even asked to be include. It is grievous to realize that all this has been accomplished without any outside monetary help whatsoever. The women did it themselves. Most important, the SEWA Bank model, through its concepts of micro-finance, has been used to empower poor women throughout the world.Towards this end, Ela join with 9 other women at the first UN World Conference on Women in Mexico City in 1975 these women shared the belief that the worlds financial institutions must extend accessible to low-income women. Incorporated in 1979, Womens World Banking now has 43 affiliates in 35 countries. Ela Bhatt has served as its leave since 1985. The far-reaching effect of Ela Bhatts work have been accept internationally through many awards, including the Right Livelihood Award (the flip over(a) Nobel Prize) for ever-changing the Human Environment in Stockholm in 1984. Formal thriftIn India today, entirely active 11% of workers hold regular telephone circuits with buckram employer- employee relationships. These parentages are enter and the workers are protected by whatever laws are available. Informal deliverance Nearly 89% of Indias workers are undocumented. Their work in the informal domain is usually not co vered by juristic protection that may be available to workers in formal sector jobs. They work any on their have got, or as piece workers with a contractor or middleman, in relationships that depend on verbal agreement. Home-based hit Part of the informal economy, this work is done at home, usually by women.She gets raw materials from a contractor or middleman, assembles the finished product, and set ashores it to the middleman for payment. Often at the mercifulness of the contractor, she must accept whatever pay he is go outing to give. This display case of worker is the intimately invisible in the economy. Macro-finance whole shebang with the large amounts of money used by banks, governments, stock markets, corporations, and other large institutions. Micro-Finance Micro-finance works with the very small amounts of money actually used by low-income tidy sum. It is often the most appropriate way to implement loving programs at the grassroots level.Things to Do and Discus s 1 Imagine that you are a poor woman working in Gujarat, India. Construct a family, home, and job for yourself. You may need to consult a book or cyclopedia to get more information. What problems do you think you would have? How would you use a loan from SEWA Bank to improve the lives of yourself and your family? 2 How is womens work considered in your declare farming? In what ways is it similar or different from the item in India? Do you think that changes such as SEWA provides would be reusable in your country? - Ela R Bhatt Extremely gentle and soft-spoken, yet unassailable and determined and astray accepted as pioneer in energy for entrepreneurial forces in grassroots emergence spark advance to women empowerment this is the practicing Gandhian economics and septuagenarian, Ela R Bhatt, popularly cognise as Elaben by members of Self Employed Womens Association or SEWA, which she founded in 1972. She helped the self-employed women to organize themselves. Its member s include vegetable vendors, fisherwomen, bidi-rollers, weavers, and seasonpan workers who were exploited for generations by middlemen.SEWA empowered them to explore direct market linkages, removing middlemen from the chain. Next it propagated the concept of liberty by producing and marketing to other colonisations leaders to self-sustained village economy. It has formed 102 cooperatives including milk and grain and a agricultural Distribution earnings called RUDI to help women link with other villages in a 100-km radius. Next came a cooperative bank called SEWA Bank in 1974 to help these women have access to banking services which otherwise were not available.Like a banyan tree the SEWA today has spread to countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. - Ela R Bhatt - Extremely gentle and soft-spoken, yet firm and determined and widely recognized as pioneer in pushing for entrepreneurial forces in grassroots information leading to women empowerment this is the practi cing Gandhian economics and septuagenarian, Ela R Bhatt, popularly kn induce as Elaben by members of Self Employed Womens Association or SEWA, which she founded in 1972.She helped the self-employed women to organize themselves. Its members include vegetable vendors, fisherwomen, bidi-rollers, weavers, and saltpan workers who were exploited for generations by middlemen. - SEWA empowered them to explore direct market linkages, removing middlemen from the chain. Next it propagated the concept of self-reliance by producing and marketing to other villages leading to self-sustained village economy.It has formed 102 cooperatives including milk and grain and a Rural Distribution Network called RUDI to help women link with other villages in a 100-km radius. Next came a cooperative bank called SEWA Bank in 1974 to help these women have access to banking services which otherwise were not available. Like a banyan tree the SEWA today has spread to countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Paki stan. - Ela Bhatt Of SEWA Awarded Indira Gandhi Prize For Promoting counterinsurgency recent Delhi, 18 Feb (Tehelka Bureau) Ela Bhatt is a name which has send offn the transformation of close to 17 lakh volume in the last four decades. As one of the founders of Self Employed Womens Association (SEWA), she has promoted the cause of women relentlessly allowing millions of them to become unconditional and self reliant. The impact of her work has been recognized consistently and it was lauded once again on Monday when she was honored by the president of India with the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, disarmament and learning.This makes Bhatt only the third Indian in the history of the award to receive the appreciate constituted in the memory of the late Prime parson of India, Indira Gandhi. The other Indian recipients are former Prime government minister Rajiv Gandhi and father of unripened revolution MS Swaminathan. Bhatt used the opportunity to re-examine the idea of count erinsurgency and interpreted it as an instrument which disarms and renders war useless. Equating exiguity with day-after-day violence, she found it to be no less destructive than war and said that its removal is essential for frame of referenceing ataraxis.Stressing on the need to actors line the realities of our own countries rather than detective work up with the western economic models, Bhatt urged the people to comply a principle which ensures six basic necessities- food, shelter, clothing, direct education, old healthcare and first-string banking- are available inwardly a 100 geographical mile distance. If these necessities are locally produced and consumed, we will have the step-up of a newborn holistic economy, she said. - The President praised her by calling the prize a tribute to her unflinching zeal towards the betterment of women in societyNew Delhi, 18 Feb (Tehelka Bureau)Ela Bhatt is a name which has tryn the transformation of close to 17 lakh people in t he last four decades. As one of the founders of Self Employed Womens Association (SEWA), she has promoted the cause of women relentlessly allowing millions of them to become independent and self reliant. The impact of her work has been recognized consistently and it was lauded once again on Monday when she was honored by the President of India with the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, disarmament and ontogeny.This makes Bhatt only the third Indian in the history of the award to receive the prize constituted in the memory of the late Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi. The other Indian recipients are former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and father of green revolution MS Swaminathan. Bhatt used the opportunity to re-examine the idea of peace and interpreted it as an instrument which disarms and renders war useless. Equating poorness with periodical violence, she found it to be no less destructive than war and said that its removal is essential for building peace.Stressing on the ne ed to address the realities of our own countries rather than catching up with the western economic models, Bhatt urged the people to follow a principle which ensures six basic necessities- food, shelter, clothing, primary education, primary healthcare and primary banking- are available within a 100 mile distance. If these necessities are locally produced and consumed, we will have the growth of a new holistic economy, she said - -Dr. Ela Bhatt, recipient of the University of Chicagos 2007 William Benton Medal for Distinguished Public Service, presented a public lecture on Novermber 27th in the Weymouth Kirkland Courtroom. Ela R. Bhatt is widely recognized as one of the worlds most remarkable pioneers and entrepreneurial forces in grassroots development. Known as the gentle revolutionary she has devote her life to improving the lives of Indias poorest and most oppressed women workers, with Gandhian intellection as her source of guidance.In 1972, Dr. Bhatt founded the self-employed Womens Association (SEWA) a cunning union which now has more than 1,000,000 members. Founder Chair of the Cooperative Bank of SEWA, she is also founder and chair of Sa-Dhan (the All India Association of Micro Finance Institutions in India) and founder-chair of the Indian in save of Micro-finance for Women. Dr. Bhatt was a Member of the Indian Parliament from 1986 to 1989, and subsequently a Member of the Indian Planning Commission.She founded and served as chair for Womens World Banking, the International Alliance of Home-based Workers (HomeNet), and Women in Informal commerce Globalizing, Organizing (WIEGO). She also served as a trustee of the Rockefeller Foundation for a decade. Dr. Bhatt has reliable several awards, including the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the Right Livelihood Award, the George Meany-Lane Kirkland Human Rights Award, and the server dhonneur from France. She has also received honorary doctorates from Harvard, Yale, the University of Natal and other academic ins titutions.In 2007, Dr. Bhatt was named a member of The Elders, an international group of leaders whose goals include catalyzing peaceful resolutions to long-standing conflicts, articulating new approaches to global issues that are causing or may cause immense benevolent suffering, and sharing wisdom by helping to connect voices all over the world. The Benton Medal The William Benton Medal for Distinguished Public Service is wedded to individuals who have rendered distinguished public service in the field of education. This field includes not only teachers but also . . . veryone who contributes in a musical arrangementatic way to shaping minds and disseminating companionship. Previous Benton Medal recipients include John Call by, Katharine Graham, and Senator Paul Simon. - Source http//www. law. uchicago. edu/node/1502 - - The President of India Pranab Mukherjee on 18 February 2013 conferred 2011 Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, disarmament and Development Award to Ela Ramesh Bhat t, a renowned Women affectionate worker.The award was given away at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. Ela Bhatt was given away the award for life time achievements in women empowerment, promotion of grassroot level entrepreneurship as well as contribution towards promotion of equitable development and peace. Ela Bhatt has her organisation SEWA (Self-Employed Womens Association). President Pranab Mukherjee while giving away the award announced that SEWA was a vehicle of self employment and self reliance for the Indian women, while at the said(prenominal) time being synonymous with the clownish inclusiveness. Ela Bhatt Ela Bhatt is the founder of more than 1 million SEWAs in India. Since years, Ela Bhatt has been working for women empowerment and bringing women out of want through promotion of Self Help Groups. SEWA has empowered women with freedom as well as financial self- reliance (Source http//www. jagranjosh. com/current-affairs/ela-bhatt-conferred-2011-indira-gandhi-prize-for -peace-disarmament-and-development-award-1361254391-1) - It honours the hard work of the poor Ela Bhatt Tuesday, Feb 19, 2013, 1644 IST Place Ahmedabad Agency DNA Says Ela Bhatt on receiving Indira Gandhi peace prize.Noted social worker Ela Ramesh Bhatt was on Monday conferred the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development by President Pranab Mukherjee. After receiving the award, Elaben (80), founder of Self-Employed Womens Association (Sewa), said the prize is recognition of hard work by the all poor working women and their leaders worldwide, who hold peace, disarm violence and reduce poverty with their honest work. She said that award has given her the opportunity to explore what constitutes the peace. I have often stated that poverty is violence.This violence is by consensus of society that lets other forgiving beings go without roti, kapada and makan. mendi guttercy is not god given. It is a moral collapse of our society. Garibi hatao to me also meant, indeed , shanti banao. Garibi Hatao is a peace song, said founder of Sewa which has 17 lakh members now. She said that when Mahatma Gandhi talked close to Swaraj, he talked about economic decentralisation. She urged people to ensure that six basic needs are met from resources within 100 miles. - I call it the 100-mile principle.If food, shelter, clothing, primary education, primary healthcare and primary banking are locally produced and consumed, we will have the growth of a new holistic economy that the world will take note of, she said. She insisted that catching up with the western economic models will turn us into inapt followers, not leaders. - (Source http//www. dnaindia. com/ahmedabad/1801728/report-it-honours-the-hard-work-of-the-poor-ela-bhatt - Ela Bhatt conferred prestigious Indira Gandhi PrizeFeb 18, 2013 Ela Bhatt, a well-known social worker, was honored for her life time achievements in empowering women and promoting grass root level entrepreneurship. Ela Bhatt, founder of the Self Employed Womens Association (SEWA), was presented with the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for the year 2011 by the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee at a glittering ceremony today. Ela Bhatt was honoured for her life time achievements in empowering women, promoting grassroot level entrepreneurship and for her contribution towards promoting equitable development and peace.Ela Bhatt is known globally for her work over decades (though officially only since 1972) that has acquired SEWA with a social status in excess of 1. 3 million. She also founded the SEWA Cooperative Bank in 1974, which has an outreach of 3 million women simple figures that speak volumes of her give efforts and leadership to successfully bring women out of poverty into a life of self-confidence and esteem. speech production on the ocassion President Pranab Mukherjee said Ela Bhats orgainisation SEVA has today become synonymous with rural inclusiveness and a vehicle of self employment and self reliance for women.The President praised her work for bringing women out of poverty and empowering them with the freedom to choose and attaining financial self-reliance through the promotion of Self Help. Congratulating her, the President said her life and work is reflective of the philosophy and ideals espoused by Indias former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in whose memory the prize was instituted. The President said Ms Bhatts example would spur many more initiatives in our country and elsewhere, guideed at renewal of society and all-round development of people. If women are under stand for in the productive efforts of our economy, it is not only injudicious but also detrimental to the cause of social proficiency, the president. Due to the untiring efforts of Ms. Bhatt, SEWA has become an heavy vehicle for promotion of self employment and self reliance amongst women. To realize these goals, the organization has been providing support services in the areas o f savings and credit, health care, child care, legal aid, insurance, capacity building and communication. It has become a multi-dimensional entity a fatigue corporate, a co-operative and a womens movement. - Speaking on the occassion, Indias Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh said, By saying that poverty is the moral failure of a society, Ela-ben throws down the gantlet to society at large. Her own attempt to attack poverty by organizing poor women and helping them empower themselves economically is at once aimed at the twin evils of poverty and gender discrimination. Ela Bhatt The gentle revolutionary a pioneer in womens empowerment and grassroots development, founder of the more than 1 million- lovesome Self-Employed Womens Association in India.There are risks in all action. Every success has the seed of some failure. plainly it doesnt matter. It is how you go about it. That is the real challenge. Ela Bhatt has been a member of The Elders since the group was founded in 200 7. Profoundly influenced by Gandhian thinking, she advocates local, grassroots solutions for those who are poor, oppressed or suffering the effects of violent conflict. She joined her fellow Elders to encourage peaceful Palestinian testify and self-reliance during The Elders two delegations toIsrael and the occupied Palestinian territories.One of Indias foremost womens rights activists, Ela Bhatt welcomed the Elders to India in February 2012, where the group lent their support to young people in the state of Bihar campaigning to endchild spousalin their own communities. One of Indias foremost womens rights activists, Ela Bhatt welcomed the Elders to India in February 2012, where the group lent their support to young people in the state of Bihar campaigning to endchild marriagein their own communities. We are poor, but so manyEla Bhatt is one of the worlds most remarkable pioneers and entrepreneurial forces in grassroots development. Known as the gentle revolutionary, she has use her life to improving the lives of Indias poorest and most oppressed women workers. In 1972 she founded theSelf-Employed Womens Association (SEWA), a craftiness union for women workers in Indias huge informal sector, who make up 94 per cent of the female labour force and yet have never enjoyed the same rights and warrantor as those in formal employment.Today SEWA has more than 1. 2 million members crossways night club Indian states. We may be poor, but we are so many. Why dont we start a bank of our own? Our own womens bank, where we are treated with the respect and service that we deserve. Chandaben, SEWA member The following year, Ela Bhatt founded theCooperative Bank of SEWA. The bank helps women to gain financial liberty and raise their standing in their families and communities and puts into practice the Gandhian principles of self-reliance and collective action.Empowering women workers Among the organisations Ela Bhatt has created and inspired, she founded and chairs * Sa-Dhan (the All India Association of Micro Finance Institutions in India) * The Indian School of Micro-finance for Women * Womens World Banking * The International Alliance of Home-based Workers (HomeNet) * Women in Informal drill Globalizing, Organizing (WIEGO) She has also served as a trustee of the Rockefeller Foundation for more than ten years.In recognition of her work to improve the status of women and the working poor in India and elsewhere, Ela Bhatt was awarded the first-ever Global Fairness Initiative Award, the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the Right Livelihood Award, the George Meany-Lane Kirkland Human Rights Award, and the Legion dhonneur from France. She has also received honorary doctorates from Harvard, Yale and the University of Natal. - Women, work and peace Ela Bhatt,18 February 2013 Poverty is day-to-day violence, no less destructive than war. Receiving the 2011 Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development, Ela Bhatt re-examines our idea of peace, argu ing that equity, local economies and the empowerment of women through work are central to supporting economic freedoms, and at that channelizefore peace. expert President of India, Honorable Shrimati Sonia Gandhi, Honorable Prime Minister of India, and distinguished dignitaries and friends Thank you for this singular honor. I humbly accept the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development on behalf of the self-employed women ofSEWA. This year, SEWA is 40 years old I turn 80.We are a sisterhood of 17lakh1. 7 million. Our journey is long and perchance endless. This prize has given honor to all working poor women and their leadership worldwide, who hold peace, disarm violence and reduce poverty with their honest work. And in that locationfore, it gives me profound contentment to be here today. I still hold someday they will hold a central place in our economy. This peace prize gives us an opportunity to re-examine our ideas of what constitutes peace. Certainly, abse nce of war is not peace. Peace is what keeps war away, but it is more than that peace disarms and renders war useless.Peace is a condition enjoyed by a fair and fertile society. Peace is about restoring balance in society only then is it lasting peace. In my view, restoration and reconstruction of a society are essential and headstone components of the peace process worldwide. If we look carefully at our world, we find that where at that place is unfair distribution of resources, there is unrest. When people cannot enjoy the fruits of their labors fairly, when they are squeeze off their land and homestead and forest, we have the basis of an unjust society. Where there is violence and conflict, we invariably find poverty.And where there is poverty, we find anger and bully struggles for justice and equity. And we see governments resorting to repression for ensuring law and order. I have often stated that poverty is violence. This violence is by consensus of society that lets other merciful beings go withoutrotiandkapadaandmakan. Poverty is not theology-given. It is a moral collapse of our society. Poverty strips a person of his or her benevolentity and takes away freedom. Poverty is day-to-day violence, no less destructive than war. Poverty is lack of peace and freedom. In fact, removing poverty is essentially building peace.I know I am not saying anything new. Garibi Hataoto me also meant indeedShanti Banao. Garibi Hataois a peace song. In India, we are proud of our multicultural society. Bahudhais at the heart of what makes us who we are social diversity, policy-making diversity, religious diversity, biological diversity. But in our rush to evolve let us not forget one of our greatest assets our economic diversity. In our markets, we have the street vendor, the cart seller, the kiosk owner, the shop owner, and the supermarket owner, all plying their trades at the same time.Let them bring home the bacon to different strata of society, co-existing and c ompeting in a natural, organic way. Let our planning include ample room for the millions of small entrepreneurs and self-employed, who cater to the widest strata of society, to flourish and grow. They are the agents of an economic development that reaches the grassroots they weave the living web of social and economic relationships that will bind our nations together. Gandhiji talked aboutswaraj he talked about economic decentralization. I would urge us to ensure that six basic primary needs are met from resources within 100 miles around us. I call it the 100 mile principle.If food, shelter, clothing, primary education, primary healthcare and primary banking are locally produced and consumed, we will have the growth of a new holistic economy, which the world will sit up and take note of. And itispossible in and around India in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan women have done it. Catching up with western economic models will turn us into incompetent followers, not leaders. But if we address the realities of our own countries, we can create a development that makes us leaders of our destiny. Let me make clear, however, that the 100 mile principle is not a recipe for isolation.I am not asking at all that we go back but move forward with heightened awareness about how and where we spend our money and what our work is doing to us and those around us. In fact, technologies can help to share knowledge and ideas across countries. However, we do need to get away from a world where people grow what they do not eat, and eat what they do not grow where they have lost control over their basic production and daily consumption where they have become part of a system whose outcomes are determined by people far away, in a manner not in their interest and outside their control.This awareness is already growing among the younger generation the world over. In India, we have a running start because our local economies are still alive. Let us give them the respe ct they deserve by investing in people who survive despite our neglect. And where do we start? I have faith in women. Women have shown, if we care to observe, that disarmament in the end is not a treaty by two nations to render arms useless, though such treaties are much-needed in this world. In my experience, as I have seen within India and in other countries, women are the key to rebuilding a corporation. Why?Focus on women and you will find an ally who wants a still community. She wants roots for her family. You get a worker, a provider, a caretaker, an educator, a networker, a forger of bonds. I consider thousands of poor working womens participation and representation an integral part of the peace and development process. Women bring constructive, creative and sustainable solutions to the table. Also, in my experience, productive work is the thread that weaves a society together. When you have work, you have an incentive to maintain a stable society. You cannot only see the future, but you can plan for the future.You can build assets and invest in the next generation. Life is no longer just about survival. Work builds peace because work gives people roots, as well as allowing them to flower it builds communities and it gives meaning and dignity to ones life. Work restores mans relationships with himself, with fellow human beings, with the earth and the environment, and with the great tonus that created us all. Being one of The Elders, I listen to Nelson Mandela, dear Madiba, telling us frequently that money wont create success, but the freedom to make it, will. True, in Gaza, the men and women said to me, Without work we can neither forgive nor forget, because what have we to look forward to? In a Sudanese camp, I heard refugees crying for work, not charity. After the seism in Kutch, when I controled the area, everywhere I went the women, who had lost everything, said to me, Ben, have you brought work? By work, I do not mean sweatshops and bald-fa ced labour in factories that leave a person a break ones back to yet another class of exploitation.Treating land and forests and people and even work as a commodity cannot build a fuller human being, nor a holistic society. Such work strips them of the multifunctional, multicultural character of work that fosters a dynamic and organic growth in society. A woman who tends a small plot of land, grows vegetables, weaves cloth, and provides for the family and the market, while caring for the financial, social, educational and emotional needs of her family is multifunctional worker and the builder of a stable society.One who labours long hours at a factory where he has no control of his work or his skills, contributes one product to society whose work is measured and therefore given greater credence by us, while her work is unaccounted and abbreviated. It is the gross domestic product at the household level that matters. The use of word domestic in GDP should not be overlooked. Peace and development cannot be measured in numbers. I do foretaste that one day peace and development will shine on the face of our land and the people, and the world will enjoy the wisdom of my India.Thank you very much. Ela Bhatt delivered this speech upon accepting the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development, on 18 February 2013 in New Delhi. - Source http//theelders. org/article/welcoming-my-fellow-elders-india take my fellow Elders to India We hope to listen to girls affected by child marriage, their parents, their teachers and community leaders and amplify their needs and concerns in our conversations with government, media and other influential people. Ela Bhatt is joined in India by her fellow Elders Desmond Tutu, Gro Brundtland and Mary Robinson at the start of a week-long visit focusing on the empowerment of girls and women. I am very happy to be welcoming my friends Desmond Tutu, Gro Brundtland and Mary Robinson to India. This is the first time the Elders have travelled here as a group, and I hope that by the end of our visit to Delhi and Bihar, we will have become even wiser. Our aim is to listen and learn, not lecture. I also hope this is the beginning of a continued relationship with the people and leaders of India.As some of you may already know, the Elders work together as independent global leaders, supporting peace-building and human rights. These issues are closely related in my view. Peace, human rights and human development go hand in hand, and the Millennium Development Goals the international benchmarks for progress on poverty, health, education and other issues are a very important tool. I powerfully believe that peace is not a political issue, its a human one, and will only be achieved when everyone has the freedom to grow at their own pace and to fulfill their emf.In India, the focus of our visit is to support Indian girls in particular to realize their full potential by drawing attention to the practice of child m arriage. In this way, we hope we will also contribute towards Indias own development as a peaceful partner in the global family of nations. In the exploitation world an estimated one in three girls is married before the age of 18. One in seven marries before 15. Around ten million girls a year are affected by child marriage and one third of them live in India. Child marriage is, however, a truly global practice.It occurs across all major religions and regions, from West and eastside Africa to South Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and communities in Europe and the joined States. There are many reasons why child marriage happens, but we now recognize that marrying later, delaying pregnancy and continuing girls education, providing them adequate skills and financial literacy, are all important ways to support development and build a more peaceful world. As I mentioned, the Elders are not here to lecture or prescribe.Nevertheless as home to a significant likeness of the worlds c hild brides, addressing this issue in India is very important on the global collection plate. What we hope to do is to listen to girls affected by child marriage, their parents, their teachers and community leaders and amplify their needs and concerns in our conversations with government, media and other influential people. I am very sympathetic to the difficult decisions that families must make here in India. Even if they want their daughters to be educated, there are often no schools nearby, especially outside the big towns and cities.Physical security measure is a real concern if girls have to travel long distances or stay in dormitories away from home. In India, family and community are also central to most peoples security both sensual and financial. Marriages are not just between individuals, but weave together families and communities in mutually supportive networks. This makes marriage complex and important to social cohesion. Like everywhere in India, we are seeing cha nge. I have seen differences in age of marriage from my amazes generation to my own, and my daughters. But it is far too slow.We hope that the Elders contribution will help to create an enabling environment where everyone works together government, young people, media, NGOs, and businesses too so that girls can become equal members of the family, not second class members, and can truly fulfil their potential. We look forward to sharing our thoughts along the way, and hope that you will join the conversation too. Peace by practice Mandela daytime 2011 Ahead of Mandela Day 2011, Ela Bhatt asks how we can live up to NelsonMandelas example and discusses the power of thinking local to change our communities and create a better world. To me, Nelson Mandela is a supreme symbol of freedoms struggle. Next week, on 18 July, he will celebrate his 93rd birthday, a daythat around the world people now recognise as Mandela Day. Let us take this opportunityto reflect on the life of a man we ha ve come to know and respect as a great leader, one who sacrificed his own freedom for the freedom of his people. How best do we honour his achievements? What can we do to live up to Madibas example? Looking for a solutionIt is often said that the problems facing our world are too overwhelming or intractable that you find endless conflict, injustice and poverty. I agree that if you want to fixthe worlds problems, you have a mightytask. In my own country, India, the scale of the poverty we see is enough to break your heart. After decades of independence, freedom has still not come to everycitizen discrimination has taken new forms, and the poorest of the poor live on the margins, the invisible engine of our so-called Tiger economy. When we see such suffering, it is natural to wish to solve everything at once.We turn to our governments for a solution, and feel frustrated when theyfail to act. But I have never been one to argue that governments have all the answers. Change is up to us Our greatest source of strength is right under our noses the families, work-places and communities that give us strong foundations, on which equal societies are built. Thinking local, we can turn power upside down. In my work with Self-Employed Womens Association (SEWA), I have seen some of the poorest, most vulnerable women transform their lives and the communities theylive in.From being home-based workers, landless labourers or illiterate food vendors they have claimed their rights and have become the owners of their own resources, the beneficiaries of their own land. They meet resistance from the authorities at everystage but theystand firm, together, saying We are poor, but so many I believe strongly that to bring widespread change, we must first make that change ourselves. other great teacher, Mahatma Gandhi, imagined this as ripples in water, small circles of change that grow ever wider.Our actions have an impact we may never even see. Peace by practice Rather than find you rself immobilised bythe scale of the worlds problems, look around you. Even when a problem is right under your nose, it is easyto ignore it we curse fate, blame tradition or sayits Gods will. But you will not have to search far before you find people who are hungry, lonely, downtrodden, persecuted sometimes we just need a reason to reach out to them. When Nelson Mandela founded The Elders, he invoked the idea of ubuntu that we are human onlythrough the humanity of others.What he describes is more than charity, it is a certain prospect or way of life. Byserving others, we actuallyfulfil our own humanity these actions are full of faith, a form of prayer. This Mandela Day a dayfor personal, local action let us spend our energies serving our own communities to honour the 67 years Nelson Mandela dedicated to fighting for a better world. (Source - Harvard varsity to honour Ela Bhatt (Source http//articles. timesofindia. indiatimes. com/2011-03-14/ahmedabad/28687384_1_ela-bhatt-sew a-honour )BOSTON The prestigiousHarvard Universitywill honor Ela Bhatt, founder of the Self-Employed Womens Association (SEWA), for her life and work that has had a significant impact on society . Bhatt (77), whose trade union has helped over a million women inIndiagain access to opportunities for themselves and their families, will be awarded the Radcliffe appoint Medal by Harvard Universitys Radcliffe Institute for Advanced submit. She would be presented the medal, awarded per year to individuals who have substantially and positively influenced society, on Radcliffe Day on may 27.Some of the illustrious past winners includeToni Morrisonin 2007,Margaret Atwoodin 2003, Billie Jean index in 2002 andAlice Walkerin 1992. The Radcliffe Institute is proud to honor her this year, in which gender in the developing world is one of its dominant themes, the Institute said. Recipient of several prestigious awards, Ela Bhatt founded SEWA in 1972. Conceived as a womens trade union, SEWA has grown into an NGO that offers micro-lending , health and life insurance and child care all overseen by more than a hundred women-run cooperatives.In January 2010, SEWA membership had reached 1. 2 million. Bhatt has been recognised for her long battle for social justice. In November last year, monument of State Hillary Clinton had honoured Bhatt with the Global Fairness Initiative Award for helping move more than a million poor women in India to a stead of dignity and independence. Radcliffe Day is the Institutes annual celebration of women, as well as the alumnae and fellows of Radcliffe College and the Radcliffe Institute.It is traditionally held on the day after Harvards commencement. The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University is a scholarly community where individuals pursue advanced work across a wide range of academic disciplines, professions and creative arts. within this broad purpose , the institute sustains a continuing commitment to the exact of women, gender and the society. - An exhibition on Ahmadabads forgotten heroine TNNNov 17, 2012, 06. 44AM ISTAHMEDABAD She was respected by lakhs of textile workers and the poor Anasuya Sarabhai(1885-1972), fondly known as Motaben, holds a extraordinary place in the history of the country. She is best remembered for joining hands withMahatma Gandhiin leading the historic strike of mill workers in Ahmedabad, which eventually led to the founding of the countrys first Textile Labour Association (TLA), in 1920. A 13-day exhibition, starting on Saturday is being held in the city, chronicling Motabens life. It also marks the fortieth anniversary of the founding of Sewa ( mercenary(a) Womens Association) as well as the 127th birthday of Anasuya Sarabhai. Her nature among mill workers, and the love and trust they showed in her leadership, were key to Gandhijis eventual success, says Somanth Bhatt, who conjured up rare pictures of Anasuya for an exhibition at Shantisadan on Mirzapur Road in the walled city. Anasuyabens thoughts and lifetime nurtured Gandhis ideologies. This is the first time a labour organization is getting mingled in an exhibition for a labour leader, Motaben, says founder of Sewa, Ela Bhatt, who first worked with Motaben in 1955. Shantisadan was where Ansuyaben lived and founded the labour movement. This is a rare oppurtunity to exhibit history in the place where it occured. The unique thing about this exhibition is that it is presented in a way that speaks about Anasuyaben in her own words and photographs, says Bhatt. She further adds, Many would not know this but Motaben was the force behind the major labour laws of our country. In my opinion, Motaben and her contribution to the reedom struggle and labour movement should become part of school textbooks. - Ela Bhat Source http//www. tolerance. org/activity/ela-bhat) I realized that although eighty percent of women in India are economically active, they are outside the purview of legislation. Elas Story Born in 1933 to a middle class, well-educated family, Ela Bhatt has spent her life fighting for the rights and welfare of Indias invisible workers. Her grandparents worked with Mahatma Gandhi in the non-violent struggle for Indian Independence from the British. Deeply influenced by Gandhi, Ela has followed his ideals all her life.She has pioneered the idea that people themselves, no matter how poor or uneducated, are able to solve their own problems if they organize together to do so. To help provide this, she founded SEWA, the Self-Employed Womens Association. Called one of the best -if not the best grassroots programmes for women on the planet, SEWA proved so successful that it has become a model for micro-finance programs in other parts of the world. Ela started as a lawyer with the Textile Labour Association (TLA) in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, a union founded by Gandhi, who had deep respect for Indias textile producers.Working in the womens division, Ela soon found that women were doing many of the labor-intensive tasks needed in textile production, as well as in other fields of work. However, as workers, they were invisible. Out- raged, Ela said, Personally, I dont think there can be any greater injustice to anybody in the world than to have ones work contribution negated Who is the backbone of any economy in the country? Its the poor Yet they are not recorded as workers in the national census. They are described as non-workers Home-based workers are the least visible of all. In the textile industry, contractors give the women cloth pieces which are already cut out to form parts of a garment. The women sew the garments together at home and return them to the contractor. The women have to work fast and for long hours, because they are paid by the piece. Often, young daughters help with the sewing after school. The contractor would pay whatever he wished, often an extremely low rate of 4-5 rupees per day. The women, because they were unorganized, ha d no way to demand higher rates.Other women workers in the informal sector also had very difficult working conditions and were often exploited. These women included vegetable sellers, rag pickers, bidi rollers (a hand-rolled cigarette), incense makers, cleaners, laborers, cart pullers, and silk and cotton workers. I realized that although eighty percent of women in India are economically active, they are outside the purview of legislation. Ela recognized that these women needed the help that they could get only through organizing together as a large group. To meet that need, she founded SEWA in 1972 to organize for better pay and working conditions.SEWA, which today has 250,000 members, helped workers at the lowest level of society become empowered to take control of their lives. It soon became apparent that women workers had a serious problem with money and banking. Even though many of the women worked twelve hours a day or more, they made little money, had no savings, and never h ad enough capital to improve their conditions. For example, a home- based textile assembler might have to pay high rent on the sewing machine she used. She never had enough money at one time to buy the machine.Even if a woman was able to get a little money together, the money often was not safe at home, where men felt entitled to whatever was in the house. If a women cute to borrow money to further her business (for example, to buy extra vegetables to sell in the market), she would have to borrow from money lenders at outlandish rates, sometimes 50% per day. Since womens wealth was often in the form of jewelry, they also got funds through pawning. Because they were largely illiterate, these women were unable to sign their names at a bank and were unfamiliar with banking routines.A male relative would have to sign for them, gaining access to the money. In addition, bankers, who had never dealt with illiterate low-income women, treated them badly. SEWA had a meeting to which 2000 wom en came and told of their difficulties with the banks. Finally, someone said, Lets start our own bank Others agreed, and the idea was underway. SEWA Bank was registered in 1974 with 4,000 members. When money had to be raised to register the bank, the women, saying, We are poor, but we are so many raised the needed RS. 100,000 within six months.Ela says that the idea that illiterate women cannot be decision-makers in finance is an untrue middle-class notion. A major problem was that the women could not sign their names. How could they be identified at SEWA Bank? SEWA found a way that was so successful it is now used in banks throughout India. Each woman was photographed holding a slate with her bank account number on it. One copy of the photo was in her bank passbook, while another copy was kept at the bank. This definite identification meant that women could now have money in their own names men were no longer part of the process.When a woman joins SEWA Bank, the first step is sav ing. The woman must save an amount every week, no matter how small. Even if she makes only RS. 4, she is encouraged to save half a rupee. SEWA even provides a locked piggy bank for the purpose, and representatives from sewa come to the womans home to take the savings to the bank. After acquiring the habit of saving, a woman will be allowed to take out a loan. Designed to meet the needs of low-income women, the loans are small with a long payback period, up to 36 months. Ela pioneered the concept of micro-lending, the idea that very small amounts, as small as $5, may be all hat is needed to make a difference. Women used the loans for practical purposes buying equipment they had formerly rented, expanding a business, induction indoor plumbing, and paying for childrens education. Over 95% of the loans are repaid on time, a much higher repayment rate than for other banks. SEWA Bank also educates and assists the women through other services, such as day care, maternity protection, and j ob training. SEWA Bank, which now has over us $3 million in assets, has been so successful that there are now branches in other parts of India, and men have even asked to be included.It is important to realize that all this has been accomplished without any outside financial help whatsoever. The women did it themselves. Most important, the SEWA Bank model, through its concepts of micro-finance, has been used to empower poor women throughout the world. Towards this end, Ela joined with nine other women at the first UN World Conference on Women in Mexico City in 1975 these women shared the belief that the worlds financial institutions must become accessible to low-income women. Incorporated in 1979, Womens World Banking now has 43 affiliates in 35 countries.Ela Bhatt has served as its chair since 1985. The far-reaching effects of Ela Bhatts work have been recognized internationally through many awards, including the Right Livelihood Award (the alternate Nobel Prize) for Changing the H uman Environment in Stockholm in 1984. Formal Economy In India today, only about 11% of workers hold regular jobs with formal employer- employee relationships. These jobs are documented and the workers are protected by whatever laws are available. Informal Economy Nearly 89% of Indias workers are undocumented.Their work in the informal sector is usually not covered by legal protection that may be available to workers in formal sector jobs. They work either on their own, or as piece workers with a contractor or middleman, in relationships that depend on verbal agreement. Home-based Work Part of the informal economy, this work is done at home, usually by women. She gets raw materials from a contractor or middleman, assembles the finished product, and brings it to the middleman for payment. Often at the mercy of the contractor, she must accept whatever pay he is willing to give.This type of worker is the most invisible in the economy. Macro-Finance Works with the large amounts of money used by banks, governments, stock markets, corporations, and other large institutions. Micro-Finance Micro-finance works with the very small amounts of money actually used by low-income people. It is often the most appropriate way to implement social programs at the grassroots level. Things to Do and Discuss 1 Imagine that you are a poor woman working in Gujarat, India. Construct a family, home, and job for yourself. You may want to consult a book or encyclopedia to get more information.What problems do you think you would have? How would you use a loan from SEWA Bank to improve the lives of yourself and your family? 2 How is womens work considered in your own country? In what ways is it similar or different from the situation in India? Do you think that changes such as SEWA provides would be useful in your country? - Interview with Ela Bhatt Founder of the Self Employed Womens Association (SEWA) A good combination of struggle and constructive work Create, as a strategy, alternativ e economic organizationsAhmedabad, Gujarat, India Ela Bhatt. picture show by Nic Paget-Clarke. Self-employedvegetable vendors in Ahmedabad. Clickto see a series of photos. Photo by Nic Paget-Clarke. Ela Bhattis the founder of theSelf Employed Womens Association(SEWA) and was SEWAs first general-secretary. Based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, SEWA is the largest single trade union in the country with a membership of 687,000 women. SEWAs members are vegetable and garment vendors, in-home seamstresses, head-loaders, bidi rollers, piece of music pickers, construction workers, incense stick makers, and agricultural workers.They come from Indias unorganized sector and organize for their just dues and rights. 96% of all women workers in India are in this sector. Among their achievements is the SEWA Bank whose capital is made up entirely of their own contributions. The SEWA Bank was founded in 1974 by 4,000 women each contributing ten rupees. This interview was conducted wonderful 31, 2003 by Nic Paget-Clarke for In Motion Magazine in Ahmedabad. Also see interview withJayshree VyasManaging Director of SEWA Bank. * The Independence Struggle * Self-employed laborers * A leading role in the womens movement You have to be for something * In Gandhis thinking * Civil disobedience and sit-in strikes * Satyagraha and street vendors * face to face talk * Alternative economic organizations * Cooperatives and trade unions * Full employment and self-reliance social change * The diversity of our society * Literacy education * Democratic set * To serve * Changes in the garment industry * Globalization the construction industry * Embroidery and migration * Only because we had an organization * The interests of the local producers * Using the technology * Changing the balance of powerThe Independence Struggle In Motion MagazineWhat made you think you needed to start the organization SEWA? Ela BhattIm a product of the later years of the freedom movement, the independence move ment of my country. As we were studying in school and then in college our teachers and everybody around was talk about independence. In the family, also, there was the atmosphere of the independence struggle. My own grandfather, my mothers father, was in the Salt March. He was in jail. My mothers two brothers were in jail. (Editor begun March 12, 1930, the Salt March led by Mohandas (Mahatma) K.Gandhi was a 24-day march from his ashram in Ahmedabad to the Arabian Sea to make salt and protest the British ban of an Indians right to make salt. ). When I was studying in college, our teachers asked us to go the villages and live with the villagers. in general against injustice, against poverty. We never had to question how to do it because Gandhiji had shown the way how to go about it and what kind of discipline you have to follow. There I met my husband (