Ela Bhatt quotes

Ela Bhatt was an influential Indian social activist and founder of the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA). Her work focused on empowering women through economic self-reliance and labor rights. She became internationally recognized for her lifelong dedication to social justice and grassroots change. Here are 25 of her quotes:

...as I worked with the unionized labor, of the much larger labor force that was outside the purview of the protective labor laws, of any form of social security, access to justice, access to financial services, anything. That tugged at my heart. And those people were unorganized and had no strength to act to seek remedies. (Ela Bhatt)
...Poverty and violence are not God made, they are man made. Poverty and peace cannot coexist. View quote
Ela Bhatt
She (Bhatt) has helped not only women in India but women in South Africa, in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and inspired so many others to find their own way forward to overcome long legacies of inequality and unfairness. She has helped us imagine and then work toward a fairer world. View quote
Ela Bhatt
realities of our own countries rather than catching up with the western economic models, [Bhatt urged] the people to follow a principle which ensures six basic necessities- food, shelter, clothing, primary education, primary healthcare and primary banking- are available within a 100 mile distance. If these necessities are locally produced and consumed, we will have the growth of a new holistic economy. View quote
Ela Bhatt
I grew up in the time around India's independence, in the aura of a country fighting for its freedom. It was a heady and idealistic time, and we were all infected with a spirit of optimism, and the spirit of Gandhiji. View quote
Ela Bhatt
We were rebuilding the nation, looking to a more just society. It was a time when many of us were going to the villages to live there. We were a generation that had no confusion in our minds as to how to do things. Gandhiji had shown the way. This atmosphere infused politics and the way we did things. View quote
Ela Bhatt
[So], in 1972, we started SEWA, the Self Employed Women's Association. SEWA in many respects is a microcosm of the general picture of the informal sector, in India and worldwide. View quote
Ela Bhatt
[SEWA] have been doing many different things, leading the SEWA movement which is about economic freedom for the poor, women, and self employed. View quote
Ela Bhatt
Every human being has something, a spiritual element, that makes them want to do better, to reach higher. View quote
Ela Bhatt
Injustice happens at many levels, from the grass roots to the top. And one of the keys of SEWA's vision and action is linking them. View quote
Ela Bhatt
Through women, what exists and is real, what is traditional, historical, modern and cultural, given the opportunity, is upgraded. That is what the challenge to bring peace is about. (Ela Bhatt)
I am Hindu, and my activism is very much framed within that context, of karma as meaning action. View quote
Ela Bhatt
Microfinance is the best example of success in the kinds of systemic institutional areas. View quote
Ela Bhatt
Systems are needed, for example for management, accounting, skill development and MIS to serve the needs of the working poor. View quote
Ela Bhatt
SEWA is about political action, and that has always been at the heart of what we have done. It is about changing the balance of power in favor of the poor. That has meant constant tension, with big farmers, moneylenders, contractors, big traders, government, local panchayats, and so on. View quote
Ela Bhatt
...Inner peace is important, but I have always felt that living a daily life with peace is the end. So in reality individual peace and global peace are not separate. They are one and the same. View quote
Ela Bhatt
SEWA is now the largest union in India, with a membership of around 1.2 million women. View quote
Ela Bhatt
Teachers do not care...It is not because teachers are badly paid and the teachers are organized but they do not teach. If we don't respect them it is because we see them doing other business than teaching. View quote
Ela Bhatt
Women predominate in the lower strata of employment. View quote
Ela Bhatt
What we really are looking for is self reliance and that is how we should measure success. I don't much like the word empowerment, but self-reliance is the foundation of SEWA's approach,. View quote
Ela Bhatt
All my life I have worked to change concepts, and that begins with how people see and understand the problems. (Ela Bhatt)
The country is moving in a different direction, times have changed. But for me Gandhiji's values are still the frame, still alive and valid. View quote
Ela Bhatt
...tribute to her unflinching zeal towards the betterment of women in society. View quote
Ela Bhatt
So for her contribution to India and particularly the women of India, and to the global community, it is my honour to present the first Global Fairness Award to my friend, Ela Bhatt" View quote
Ela Bhatt
Ela Bhatt has upended the old ways of thinking and compelled all of us to raise our collective ambitions about what we can do to. View quote
Ela Bhatt