 SEWA
is a labour union of 530,000 women workers of the informal
economy, based in Ahmedabad city of Gujarat state in India.
Started in 1972 by Ela Bhatt, it is spread over 6 states
in India – Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar,
Kerala and Gujarat. The combined strength of the SEWA movement
is 700,000 in India. It is an organisation of poor, self-employed
women workers. These are women who earn a living through
their own labour or small businesses. They do not obtain
regular salaried employment with welfare benefits like workers
in the organised sector. They are the unprotected labour
force of our country. Constituting 93 per cent of the labour
force, these are workers of the unorganised sector. Of the
female labour force in India, more than 94 per cent are
in the unorganised sector. However, their work is not counted
and hence remains invisible. In fact, women workers themselves
remain uncounted, undercounted and invisible.
SEWA’s main goals are to organise women workers for
full employment. Full employment means employment whereby
workers obtain work security, income security, food security
and social security (at least health care, child care and
shelter). At SEWA workers are organised to achieve their
goals of full employment and self-reliance through the strategy
of struggle and development. Struggle is against the many
constraints and limitations imposed on them by society and
the economy, while development activities strengthen women’s
bargaining power and offer them new alternatives. Practically,
the strategy is carried out through the joint action of
union and cooperatives.
Shri Mahila SEWA Sahakari
Bank Ltd.
 Shri
Mahila SEWA Sahakari Bank Ltd., which came into being
in the year 1974 and was established at the initiative
of 4000 self-employed women – each of whom deposited
Rupees ten as their share in the new venture – is
an offshoot of the SEWA movement, and today, the very
backbone of the parent organisation. The objectives of
the Bank are manifold:
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To make poor women understand
the concept and importance of financial planning.
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To help these poor women
inculcate sound financial planning in their normal decision
making process.
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To motivate poor women
to plan for the future. They should understand the fact
that the future is very uncertain and anything could
happen. She can be assured of a secured tomorrow, only
if she makes adequate financial provision today.
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To bring out a change
in the mindset of women, by encouraging them to plan
for the future.
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To lead her to a “Feeling
of Security” by giving her information and access
to the various financial services and products available
in the market, and explaining the various life cycle
financial needs that each of the services or product
is designed to meet. This is also an important tool
of empowerment as knowledge is power.
-
To inculcate a feeling
of economic independence and belief that the money she
is earning today can be useful not only for her present
but also to make her own and her family’s future
more secure, provided she plans and invests properly.
While the parent organisation
SEWA, brings the self-employed poor women together, thus
enabling them to bargain for their just dues and rights,
SEWA Bank elevates their status in economic terms. Today,
the SEWA Bank stands out as the only bank of its kind in
the country and is still growing by attempting to reach
out to the maximum number of poor women engaged in the unorganised
sector.
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