On the eve of International Day for Women Indian Cooperative wishes to pay tributes to those who have contributed to the participation of women in the cooperative movement.
Two names come up easily to mind- Jaya Arunachalam and Ela Bhatt. These two ladies have set up such a huge network of women cooperatives at the grass roots that even Government of India’s efforts pail into insignificance before them.
A frail octogenarian and a Padmashree Jaya Arunachalam walks through the corridors of power in Delhi effortlessly and
never misses a chance to coach the government on the importance of micro financing. She has single handed established a huge network of micro financing in the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra.
A lady to reckon with, her frail figure hardly hides her luminous eyes reflecting determination. She does get disappointed at times by the male chauvinist attitude of bureaucrats and some of the senior cooperators but her hope never leaves her.
She has organized a grassroots trade union of working class women in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The unionized women are vendors and hawkers, other service specialists, fisherwomen, landless women, lace makers, beedi rollers, silk Weavers, agarbathi workers, embroidery workers, and several other working women.
Recognized internationally, Mrs Arunachalam could be seen keeping company of Hillary Clinton and likes. Her Indian Co-operative Network for Women is serving the purpose of an informal banking system to meet the needs of poor women.
Another name is that of Ela Bhatt, SEWA Cooperative bank founder and a revolutionary at changing lives of women. Bhatt’s life is a lesson in dedication and commitment, in caring for the under-privileged and weak, in devoting oneself to the welfare of others, in living by principles and making a difference to the lives of millions.
Bhatt is recognized for empowering women in India and elsewhere through grassroots entrepreneurship, access to shelter, healthcare, micro-finance, micro-insurance, skills, legal services, collective bargaining power and many other means, and thereby promoting equitable development and peace, following Gandhian path of self- reliance and non-violence.
A labour lawyer by training, Bhatt founded the SEWA in 1972 and under her leadership, the NGO has grown into a 13 lakh strong organisation playing a pioneering role in socio-economic and political empowerment of women.
“In my experience women are the key to building holistic communities,” she says. Although her workers still occupy the “margins” of society, “it is from the margins that real transformation comes to the centre,” Bhatt feels.
Conceived as a women’s trade union, SEWA has grown into an NGO that offers microlending, health and life insurance, and child care – all overseen by more than a hundred women-run cooperatives.
SEWA membership has grown to about 1.3 million. Bhatt has been recognised for her long battle for social justice.
Indian Cooperative salutes the two women who have changed the lives of many.
