Remembering Revolutionaries: The Legacy of Ela Bhatt

Chair: Devaki Jain

Speakers: Martha ‘Marty’ Alter Chen, Lecturer in Urban Planning and Design, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Senior Advisor, WIEGO Network, Harvard Graduate School of Design; Indira Jaisingh, Senior Advocate; Vijay Mahajan, Founder Basix; Savitaben, street vendor; and Kantaben, SEWA Bank

Moderator: Renana Jhabvala

Organised in collaboration with SEWA Bharat to mark the birth date of Smt Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Life Trustee and Vice President of IIC

Perhaps one of the most important revolutions that have occurred in our society since independence is the change in the position of women, a feminist revolution. Kamaladevi Chatopadhyay early on recognised the significant role of women artisans, often not recognised and a few decades later Elaben took this forward with women in the informal economy, which constitutes nearly 90% of workers. SEWA, the movement and family of organisations that Elaben created transformed both the knowledge and practices in the fields of labour and finance.

SEWA Bank was the word’s first microfinance organisation, “owned and managed by women” to bring finance to poor women