SELF EMPLOYED WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION :

SEWA is a trade union of 1 million women workers in 9 states. It was founded by Ela Bhatt in 1972. SEWA organizes workers of the informal economy. These workers constitute 93% of the Indian workforce. 94% of all women in India are informal workers.

SEWA’s main goals are to organize women workers for full employment and self-reliance. Full employment means employment whereby workers obtain work security, income security, food security and social security. Social security means at least health care, child care, insurance, pension and shelter. By self-reliance, we mean that women should be autonomous and self-reliant, individually and collectively both economically and in terms of their decision–making ability.

SEWA is both an organization and a movement. The SEWA movement is enhanced by its being a ‘sangam’ or confluence of the labour and cooperative movements and the women’s movement. But it is also a movement of self-employed workers; their own home-grown movement with women as the leaders. Through their own movement, women become strong and visible. Their tremendous economic and social contributions become recognized. Gandhian thinking is the inspiration for SEWA and the SEWA movement.

SOCIAL SECURITY :

Social Security is an integral part of full employment. Without social security, women workers cannot obtain work security. The reverse is equally true. And without both work and social security, workers cannot achieve their goal of self-reliance. Hence, work security and social security are like two sides of the same coin. Hence, work security and social security are like two sides of the same coin.

SEWA believes in the right to social security for all informal workers. They need a minimum level of social and economic security. This is all the more required for women of the informal economy, the poorest of workers in our country. SEWA believes that social security services for poor women workers can best be provided by member– owned and managed organisations. These organisations also must become financially viable in the long-term, with contributions from workers, employers and government. We have, therefore, developed cooperatives and associations to provide social security. They are run by the women themselves, and in a sustainable manner.

Lok Swasthya SEWA Cooperative :

Lok Swasthya SEWA Cooperative is a membership-based organization of traditional midwives or dais health workers, health educators and pharmacists. Established in 1990, it is a registered cooperative with 800 share-holders, all of whom are women.

Lok Swasthya was set up with the objectives of providing life-saving, preventive health information and knowledge and low cost, appropriate curative services at women’s doorsteps. It also helps women and their families get access to referral care.

Lok Swasthya organizes dais and other local women workers into our union, SEWA, and also encourages them to join the cooperative by becoming share-holders. Organising builds solidarity and increases local women’s bargaining power to demand and obtain services from the public and private health systems. Women learn that health security is their right. They also learn where to obtain the services to which they are entitled.

In addition, Lok Swasthya has initiated several health activities, especially providing information on health.

Lok Swasthya SEWA Ayurved :

Traditional medicines have been found to be effective cures for many diseases. We found that many of SEWA’s members are using medicinal plants.

We also saw that traditional Ayurved medicines can be made locally by women, thus providing them with employment and income. These medicines are part of SEWA’s self help efforts. They remain in women’s own control. Moreover, there are no side effects of such medicines.

Thus, SEWA’s health cooperative – Lok Swasthya SEWA, decided to produce Ayurvedic medicines. We call our brand Lok Swasthya SEWA Ayurved.

First, we organized training for midwives, health workers and other local people for identification of plants and production and marketing of medicines.

Next, we established a unit which is licensed to manufacture Ayurvedic medicines. Its production is supervised by our Ayurvedic Doctor and the quality of every batch of medicines is tested in a laboratory.

Our Ayurvedic products have been developed according to women’s needs. Prices are kept low so that the products are affordable to women workers and their families and the public at large.

LOK SWASTHYA SEWA AYURVED :