Ela Bhatt to receive 2011 Radcliffe Medal

The women's rights activist and entrepreneur also served in the Indian Parliament.

Ela Bhatt

Activist and entrepreneur Ela R. Bhatt, founder of the Self Employed Women’s Association in India and the Indian School of Micro-finance for Women, will speak to guests and receive the Radcliffe Medal during the Radcliffe Day luncheon on May 27. The association began as a women’s trade union in 1972, but has since evolved into a more comprehensive organization that also offers insurance, small loans, child care, and other critical services to support poor women laborers. SEWA operates more than 100 women-run cooperatives with about 1.25 million members.

Bhatt started out as a lawyer with the Textile Labour Association, founded by Mahatma Gandhi, with whom her grandparents had worked, and quickly became focused on the “invisible” home-based women workers, realizing that “although 80 percent of the women in India were economically active, they were outside the purview of legislation.” Bhatt is also a former member of the Indian Parliament (1986-1989).

Related topics

You might also like

In Sermon, Garber Urges Harvard Community to ‘Defend and Protect’ Institutions

Harvard’s president uses traditional Memorial Church address to encourage divergent views.

At Harvard College Convocation, an Emphasis on Open-Mindedness

Garber, other leaders sidestep politics but welcome international students.

Harvard President Alan Garber Helps First-Years Move In

As a potential settlement with the Trump administration looms, Garber gets students settled.

Most popular

How MAGA Went Mainstream at Harvard

Trump, TikTok, and the pandemic are reshaping Gen Z politics.

Harvard art historian Jennifer Roberts teaches the value of immersive attention

Teaching students the value of deceleration and immersive attention

Shakespeare’s Greatest Rival

Without Christopher Marlowe, there might not have been a Bard.

Explore More From Current Issue

Will Makris in blue checkered suit and red patterned tie standing outdoors by stone column.

A New HAA President at a Tumultuous Time

A career in higher ed inspired Will Makris to give back.

Man in gray sweater standing in hallway with colorful abstract art on wall.

How Do Single-Celled Organisms Learn and Remember?

A Harvard neuroscientist’s quest to model memory