Ela Bhatt

Ela Ramesh Bhatt (7 September 1933 – 2 November 2022) was an

Bhatt was born at Ahmedabad in India. Her father, Sumantrai Bhatt, was a successful lawyer, while her mother, Vanalila Vyas, was active in the women's movement and also remained secretary of All India Women's Conference, which in turn was founded by Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay.

The middle child of three sisters, her childhood was spent in

With the co-operation of Arvind Buch, then-president of the TLA, she undertook to organise these self-employed women into a union under the auspices of the Women's Wing of the TLA. Then in 1972 the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) was established with Buch as president and she served as its general-secretary from 1972 to 1996.[6]

The Elders: 2007–2022

On 18 July 2007 in Johannesburg, South Africa, Nelson Mandela, Graça Machel, and Desmond Tutu convened a group of world leaders to contribute their wisdom, independent leadership and integrity to tackle some of the world's toughest problems. Mandela announced the formation of this new group, The Elders, in a speech he delivered on the occasion of his 89th birthday.^{[citation needed]}

Kofi Annan served as Chair of The Elders and Gro Harlem Brundtland as deputy chair. The Elders work globally, on thematic as well as geographically specific subjects. The Elders' priority issue areas include the

Bhatt was particularly involved in The Elders' initiative on equality for women and girls, including on the issue of child marriage. In February 2012, Bhatt travelled to Bihar, India with fellow Elders Desmond Tutu, Gro Harlem Brundtland and Mary Robinson. Together, the Elders visited Jagriti, a youth-led project aimed at preventing child marriage, and encouraged the state government's efforts to tackle the issue.^[8][9]

A Gandhian practitioner of non-violence, Bhatt also travelled to the Middle East with Elders delegations in August 2009^[10] and October 2010.^[11][12]

In a blog post written for The Elders' website following the group's visit to Gaza in October 2010, Bhatt stated that non-violent struggle against injustice requires "more hard work than fighting" and that "it is the coward who uses weapons."^[13]

The Elders are independently funded by such donors as Sir

Ela Bhatt married Ramesh Bhatt in 1956, with whom she had two children, Amimayi (b. 1958) and Mihir (b. 1959).[4] She lived in Ahmedabad, Gujarat with her family. She died on 2 November 2022, at the age of 89.^[15]

Awards and recognition

Bhatt was one of the founders of Women's World Banking in 1979 with Esther Ocloo and Michaela Walsh, and served as its chair from 1980 to 1998. She has served as Chair of the SEWA Cooperative Bank, of HomeNet, of the International Alliance of Street Vendors,^[16] and was formerly on the board of directors of WIEGO.^[6] She was also a trustee of the Rockefeller Foundation.^{[citation needed]}

Bhatt was granted an honorary Doctorate degree in Humane Letters by Harvard University in June 2001. In 2012, she received a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa from Georgetown University and an honorary doctorate from Université libre de Bruxelles in Brussels, Belgium.^[17] She also held honorary doctorates from Yale and University of Natal.^{[citation needed]}

Ela Bhatt was also awarded the civilian honour of Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1985, and the Padma Bhushan in 1986. She was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 1977 and the Right Livelihood Award in 1984.^{[citation needed]}

Bhatt was chosen for the Niwano Peace Prize for 2010 for her work empowering poor women in India.^{[citation needed]}

In November 2010, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton honoured Bhatt with the Global Fairness Initiative Award for helping move more than a million poor women in India to a position of dignity and independence.^{[citation needed]}

Ela Bhatt was honoured with the prestigious Radcliffe Medal on 27 May 2011 on Radcliffe day for her efforts in helping uplift women, which has had a significant impact on society.^[18]

In November 2011, Ela Bhatt was selected for the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development 2011 for her lifetime achievements in empowering women through grassroots entrepreneurship.^[19]

In June 2012, US Secretary of State

Bhatt's book has been translated in Gujarati, Urdu, Hindi and is currently being translated in French and Tamil.^{[citation needed]}

• Bhatt, E. R. (2006). We are poor but so many: the story of self-employed women in India. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
  ISBN 0-19-516984-0
• Bhatt, E.R. (2015). Anubandh : Building Hundred Mile Communities. Ahmedabad, Navjeevan Publishing House.
  ISBN 9788172296759^[21]

Further reading

• India's 50 Most Illustrious Women (
  ISBN 81-88086-19-3
  ) by Indra Gupta

Wikiquote has quotations related to Ela Bhatt.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ela Bhatt.

• SEWA.org, Official website
• Ela Bhatt – Truthseeker, an interview with Culture Unplugged
• An Empire for Poor Working Women, Guided by a Gandhian Approach NY Times Profile
• Biography, National Resource Centre for Women, Government of India Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
• Biography of Ela Bhatt on the official site of the Magsaysay award
• Ela Bhatt's biography on The Elders' website Archived 10 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine