SEWA Movement was started by Smt. Ela Bhatt in 1972 in Gujarat as a Trade Union of women workers in the informal sector.  SEWA is a confluence of three movements - Labour, Cooperative and Women’s Movement. SEWA was born out of the labour movement with the idea that just like salaried employees, the self-employed too have a right to fair wages, decent working conditions and protective labour laws. Cooperative movement is important to develop alternative economic systems where the women workers themselves would control their means of production. In the 1970’s women’s movement took a radical turn with women participating actively in social movements and demanding capability of opportunity in all spheres of life. In 1977 Elaben won the Magsaysay award. This award gave a national recognition to SEWA.