Anasuya Sarabhai Complete Bio & Career
Many extraordinary and outstanding women in Indian history have made their mark by breaking barriers and have set an example for the whole country. One of such heroines in Indian history is Anasuya Sarabhai. She worked selflessly and tirelessly for the upliftment of underprivileged people. She was often referred as ‘Motaben’.
She was just 9 years old when she lost both her parents. She along with her two young siblings was raised by her uncle Chimanbhai Sarabhai. She was just 13 when she was forced to get married. However, the unhappy marriage was short lived and soon ended in a divorce. She wanted to complete her education and therefore as soon as she returned back after her marriage, she decided to complete her education. Her siblings supported her completely and helped her pursue further studies.
She for further studies left for England in the year 1912. During her time in England, she was inclined towards the noble cause of social equality. This happened after she met socialists like Sydney Webb, Chesterton, and Bernard Shaw. She returned back to India in 1913 and started working for unprivileged communities.
She became a prominent figure throughout the country after she was asked to address the issue of mill workers. She was in a state of shock after hearing to their problems and made sure that she will better their conditions anyhow. She demanded two things for mill owners for their workers i.e. the better working conditions and better wages and gave a deadline of 48 hours otherwise the workers will conduct a strike. She even went against her brother Ambalal during this protest who was then the president of the Mill Owners’ Association. It took 21 days and mill owners finally agreed to fulfill her demand. Even the great Mahatma Gandhi appreciated such efforts of Anasuya.
In 1920, she was declared by Mahatma Gandhi as lifelong president of the labor union. After becoming the president, she established a school name Kanyagruha so that she can provide education to the daughters of poor Ahmedabad’s textile workers. She supported the appointment of Ela Bhatt at Ahmedabad’s Textile Labour Association. They both established an organization called SEWA (Self-Employed Women’s Association of India) in the year 1972. Unfortunately, Motaben died few months after the establishment of this wonderful organization.
She is remembered even after nearly 5 decades of her death, She was instrumental in empowering the labor and never misused her power or position for her personal benefit. She was a courageous leader and will always be remembered for the work she did her entire life. She holds a significant place in the history of India’s gender and labor rights movement.
