Hundreds of millions of women worldwide work in the so-called informal sector (e.g. a job without regular income and benefits). Many women are trapped in this sector because they lack education, skills, or have other commitments which prevent full-time or regular work. In India nine out of ten working women are in informal work – with no rights, medical insurance, contract, or guaranteed minimum consequently, they and their families remain trapped in poverty. But in the Indian city of Ahmedabad, Ella Bhatt, a woman who has earned the nickname of 'the gentle revolutionary', has set up a unique organization – the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA). SEWA has not only helped thousands find a way out of the poverty trap, it has given them access to financial services, and a way of making themselves heard by Government.
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