More than 90% of India’s working women are part of the informal economy. They are artisans, waste-pickers, farmers, construction workers, kite-makers, vendors, head loaders, and domestic workers, most with little access to banking, insurance, childcare, or healthcare.
The Self Employed Women’s Association (Sewa) – India’s largest trade union of informal women workers- was founded on the principle of collective strength to fight poverty, inequality, and injustice. Branching out of the state of Gujarat, over the last five decades, it has developed a unique twin strategy: organising women through unions to assert their rights, and building women-led co-operatives to secure livelihoods and social protection. One of its key institutions, the Sewa Cooperative Federation, reflects this approach -bringing together over 100 women-owned and managed co-operatives across sectors like agriculture, dairy, handicrafts, finance, health, and childcare.
Amid this journey, songs emerged as a powerful form of collective expression and mobilisation. Over 53 years, they have remained central to Sewa’s work – from organising and capacity-building to enterprise development and advocacy.
Songs for collectivisation
For women to come and sit together, truly understand the reasonings of collectivisation and feel motivated for the long struggle ahead, Sewa’s leaders used a common yet poignant and highly compelling medium – the power of song.
Related: Co-op News takes a two-day tour of Sewa
If Kavitaben from Bodeli district felt the agony of not being able to come out of her home to attend a simple women’s gathering, so did Manjulaben from Viramgam district in having to hurry home from her workplace to avoid getting punished for leaving her children alone during the day. These were ageless struggles, from “every stage of a woman’s life”, as explained by Jayaben, senior leader and second generation member at Sewa Federation, from birth, through marriage, to death. Through songs, women released their grief, rage, and pain – and also found joy, friendship, strength, and hope.
Sustaining the values of Sewa
By conveying messages of self-employment, financial independence, and collective action, songs help women understand their rights and livelihoods. Often a repetitive chorus builds up a sense of unity, while the use of familiar melodies makes the message more accessible. Through culturally rooted songs, Sewa strengthens identity, spreads knowledge, and inspires participation, ensuring that even those in the remotest areas feel connected to the larger movement.
Jai SEWA Jai Sangathan
The song Jai Sangathan (Victory to the Collective) is an example of how songs have been instrumental in embedding SEWA’s core values within the communities it serves.
Aavo Behno Vat Kariye, shramjeeva kaamni
Shehar aangne sheri gaamne, sewa na jaynad ni
Jay Sewa, Jay sangathan
Come Sisters, let us talk about our work, about the work of informal women workers,
About the reach and impact of Sewa from villages to towns
Increasing women’s mobility, confidence and participation
In Sewa ma Jawa ni (Regardless, I will go to Sewa) – the composer, Kavitaben Rathwa, expresses the will of women workers to go to Sewa – crossing every family hurdle. Kavitaben started her journey with Sewa as a research worker in the Bodeli block of Chhotaudepuri district of Gujarat. She understood deeply the challenges faced by her family and women from her community. Presently she is president of the Sakhi Mandali (Sakhi Collective) in Bodeli.
Hun toh Sewa ma Jawa ni (Regardless, I will go to Sewa)
Hahu Kahe Vahu Nathi re Jawanu
Sanamana Rejo
Chora hachavjo
Jawani Jawani Huin toh
Sewa Maa Jawani
My mother in law, says – that “hey daughter in law don’t go out”
but I tell her – you remain calm and
take care of the kids
because I will definitely go to Sewa
Coming out of the mental landscape of home
The mind, occupied by work responsibilities (for women, both paid and unpaid), takes time to switch to meetings and training. Often there are worries, guilt, and anxieties.
Through initial “mohalla meetings” or area meetings, Sewa’s aagewans and coordinators try to understand the common experiences of women in their communities – looking at their unique trade specific needs and challenges and figuring out the best form of collective for generating livelihood and representation in market spaces.
Songs act as a psycho-social immersion, helping women bridge the typical boxes of daughters, mothers and wives, into a deeper self, more attuned to the movement and the needs of the sangathan (organisation or collective). Through use of songs – a context is set, the process of switching is made easier and a certain attention is restored.
Awareness and aspiration
Informal women workers, with deep experience of harsh economic realities, understand their trades very well. Sewa helps them envision a future where they can exert ownership of their trades – control production, value chains, and prices – challenging exploitation and discrimination.
Sewa no Bedo Paar
Behno bhagade ghoonghat,
Behno bhagade burkho,
Sisters free themselves from their ghoonghat (veil)
Sisters free themselves from their burkha (veil)
ka na bane manager,
ka na bane sarpanch,
Sewa no bedo paar
Why should not they become Managers
Why should not they become Village Heads
Sewa’s movement goes on..
As the movement has progressed, more and more women from different trades have joined and slowly integrated into the mainstream economy through their union and co-operatives; their growing aspirations are reflected in songs through the years.
Songs as a powerful medium of expression and autonomous governance
The cycle of empowerment through songs reaches its peak when Sewa members begin composing their own songs. With simple lyrics and folk tunes, often from the traditional garba folk dance, songs have become a local resource for amplifying voices and ensuring visibility. The composer gains an identity of her own, encouraging her to continue this creative pursuit and express herself more freely.
Sewa – Ae Niwar
Strategically using songs strengthens union and co-operative meetings. These meetings – at board level and with the larger member base, are an essential feature of established co-operatives, helping in generating awareness, cooperative operations, advocacy and democratic dialogue. Concepts like ‘unionization’, ‘full employment’, and co-operative values, often technical in nature, become accessible and understandable through songs.
Songs of struggle, songs of liberation
Sewa’s use of music comes from a vibrant tradition stemming from Gujarat’s citizens’ active participation in the independence movement. The Gandhian era in Gujarat saw a proliferation of patriotic songs sung at protest gatherings and in prabhat pheris – early morning rallies and walks through towns and cities, encouraging people to join the freedom movement. This historical use of music as a means of mobilization finds a parallel in Sewa’s journey, where songs are not just part of a rich cultural heritage but also serve as active tools of resistance, being composed and sung by and for the collective.
Ultimately, the essence of grassroots music lies in its profound simplicity. In beats and words, in tunes and expressions, songs have always belonged to the heart of the community. It’s a wholly creative pursuit, where the depth of the issues explored directly correlates with the simplicity of the language employed. This very accessibility is the key to its wide acceptance and enduring power. For it is through simple words and familiar melodies that the most complex truths resonate, binding us together in shared understanding and experience.
This article has been amended. An earlier version said Kavitaben is from the Bardoli, rather than Bodeli district.
