From Development to Empowerment by Rekha Datta: Summary

The article is a summation of the activities and impact of SEWA (Self-Employed Women’s Association) in the lives of women, especially the underprivileged and rural women, of India. It talks about the different measures taken by the organization in order to solve various problems a woman has to face in her regular life. The aims of SEWA is to make sure full employment of women is established. 

The organization is situated in Gujarat state of India and since its inception, it has displayed massive success rates in the fields of economy. It is also actively participating to eradicate different social obstructions women face in order to earn a livelihood. One of the biggest hurdles it came across is lack of recognition of self-employed women, such as, women who work in agricultural field, weaving, vending and so on. Previously, the state refused to give these working women the status of “employed”. But with the efforts of SEWA, especially due to the contribution of the young lawyer, Ela Bhatt, the state finally gave these women the proper recognition. This ensured that these women get the benefits of laws when necessary. This is also a stepping stone in the eradication of exploitation of these working class self-employed women.

Another problem was that these women did not have a capital to begin their business. And due to severe class difference, it was almost impossible for them to take loans from established banks. Hence, SEWA started the SEWA Bank in order to provide microfinance to these ladies, which is quite similar to the initiative taken by Grameen Bank of Bangladesh. 

Next, there was this problem of education. It was difficult to manage such a huge number of illiterate and uneducated women. Moreover, these women wanted to be educated, at least, in the bare minimum, to avoid problems like missing buses, just because they couldn’t read. In addition to that, they needed to learn basic calculation to take care of their finances. Hence, SEWA started the SEWA Academy to educated women at the expense of only 5 rupees per month for a 6-month program. The reviews of this initiative were positive. Another great initiative taken by the organization is the implementation of video-editing so that these women can get a wider reach.

All in all, SEWA is a great initiative working to empower women economically and socially and to save them from the exploitations of middlemen and general workplaces. In fact, in a study about micro-credit programs by Naila Kabeer, it was found that this type of programs reduced domestic violence and gave women an overall sense of agency.