Ela Bhatt, a longtime advocate for women in India, told students graduating from the School of Foreign Service (SFS) today that poverty is “a form of violence perpetuated with the consent of the society” that cannot be eradicated without empowerment.
On a tour of a slum settlement in Ahmedabad City, India, Martha “Marty” Chen paused when she noticed a woman hunched over a neat row of little pill bottles.
Three prestigious international honours will be bestowed upon big ben from Gujarat, Ela Bhatt, founder-director of Self Employed Women's Association (Sewa), who helped turn around lives of million-odd women through her co-operative and micro-finance initiatives.
While the Punjab government announced plans on Tuesday to raise the minimum wage for unskilled workers from Rs7,000 to Rs9,000 per month, labour rights activists demanded more effective mechanisms to provide rights to workers.
There are 8.52 million home based workers in the country representing 60% of women work force denied of rights extended to workers defined as laborers in the country.
The Punjab government has finalised a comprehensive policy for Home-Based Workers (HBWs) of Punjab to recognise them as workers and improve their living standard.
However, the plight of labourers remained unresolved in Pakistan over the year. The situation in the country’s industrial and other sectors is alarming, as only four per cent of the workforce of 53 million is covered under the unions.
For war widows of northeast Sri Lanka - who have no family wealth or alternate source of income - the Self Employed Women's Association (Sewa) training programme initiated by the Lankan government turned out to be a boon.
Ela Bhatt, a longtime advocate for women in India, told students graduating from the School of Foreign Service (SFS) today that poverty is “a form of violence perpetuated with the consent of the society” that cannot be eradicated without empowerment.