New
Delhi, Nov 11: On her 132nd birthday, Google on Saturday drew the attention
of the world to Anasuya Sarabhai, the pioneer of the women’s labour movement in
India, with a Doodle that had in the background the rich fabrics of the
country.
Anasuya was born in Ahmedabad on November 11, 1885, into the affluent, industrialist family of Sarabhais and Godavariba. She was orphaned at the age of nine when both her parents died. She and her siblings were sent to live with an uncle. She was forced into marriage at the age of 13, before she went to London with the help of her brother to pursue Medicine but changed her discipline when she learnt that a medical degree involved dissection of animals. During her stay in England she was influenced by the Fabian Society, a British socialist organisation, and became involved in the Suffragette struggle for women’s right to vote. That was the time when women were seeking more active roles in the larger economic, cultural, and political transformation. On her return to India, Anasuya was disturbed by 36-hour long work shifts of local mill workers and threw herself into the cause of weavers and mill workers for higher wages and reasonable working hours. Fondly called “Motaben”, elder sister in Gujarati, she came to become the voice of mill workers for better working conditions. She negotiated with mill owners including her brother, and succeeded in weavers’ getting a 35 per cent wage hike. She got backing of Mahatma Gandhi in her work, who helped her set up Gujarat’s oldest labour union, the Ahmadabad Majdoor Mahajan Sangh (Ahmedabad Textie Labour Association), in 1920. In 1950’s Ela Bhatt came into contact with Motaben which led to the founding of the Self-Employed Women’s Association of India (SEWA). The Google Doodle was created by Maria Qamar, a Pakistani-Canadian artist who said she could relate to Anasuya’s dedication to justice and equality and took inspiration from the Indian textile industry in portraying the backdrop of delicate fabrics and traditional patterns. UNI
Anasuya was born in Ahmedabad on November 11, 1885, into the affluent, industrialist family of Sarabhais and Godavariba. She was orphaned at the age of nine when both her parents died. She and her siblings were sent to live with an uncle. She was forced into marriage at the age of 13, before she went to London with the help of her brother to pursue Medicine but changed her discipline when she learnt that a medical degree involved dissection of animals. During her stay in England she was influenced by the Fabian Society, a British socialist organisation, and became involved in the Suffragette struggle for women’s right to vote. That was the time when women were seeking more active roles in the larger economic, cultural, and political transformation. On her return to India, Anasuya was disturbed by 36-hour long work shifts of local mill workers and threw herself into the cause of weavers and mill workers for higher wages and reasonable working hours. Fondly called “Motaben”, elder sister in Gujarati, she came to become the voice of mill workers for better working conditions. She negotiated with mill owners including her brother, and succeeded in weavers’ getting a 35 per cent wage hike. She got backing of Mahatma Gandhi in her work, who helped her set up Gujarat’s oldest labour union, the Ahmadabad Majdoor Mahajan Sangh (Ahmedabad Textie Labour Association), in 1920. In 1950’s Ela Bhatt came into contact with Motaben which led to the founding of the Self-Employed Women’s Association of India (SEWA). The Google Doodle was created by Maria Qamar, a Pakistani-Canadian artist who said she could relate to Anasuya’s dedication to justice and equality and took inspiration from the Indian textile industry in portraying the backdrop of delicate fabrics and traditional patterns. UNI
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