Project Description

Ela Bhatt

Ela Bhatt (Elabehn) is an Indian cooperative organizer who founded the Self-Employed Women’s Association of India (SEWA), the world’s largest women organisation, with 2 million members. She is also the Chancellor of the Gujarat Vidyapith, and a key trustee of the Gandhi Ashram. A lawyer by training, Bhatt is a part of the international labor, cooperative, women, and micro-finance movements and has won several national and international awards, including the Ramon Magsaysay Award (1977), Right Livelihood Award (1984) and the Padma Bhushan (1986). Elabehn walks the talk of Gandhiji, is full of life and zest, and lives humbly and simply.