Renana Jhabvala is an Indian social worker based in Ahmedabad, India, who has been active for decades in organising women into organisations and trade unions in India, and has been extensively involved in policy issues relating to poor women and the informal economy.
16 Facts About Renana Jhabvala
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Renana Jhabvala is best known for her long association with the Self-Employed Women's Association, India, and for her writings on issues of women in the informal economy.
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Renana Jhabvala was born in Delhi to the Booker Prize winning novelist and screenwriter, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, and well-known architect Cyrus S H Jhabvala.
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Renana Jhabvala's grandparents were active in public life during the early to mid part of the twentieth century.
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In February 2012 talk given at India International Centre, Renana spoke about the work of Mehraben, who was a dedicated organiser and advocate of women and the President of the All-India Women's Conference from 1965 to 1968.
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Renana Jhabvala was raised and schooled in Delhi and graduated from Hindu College, University of Delhi, in 1972 with a distinction in BSc Maths.
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Renana Jhabvala attended Harvard University to pursue an additional degree in BA Maths.
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Renana Jhabvala then went on to the Yale University to pursue post-graduate studies in Economics.
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Renana Jhabvala worked first with the women workers stitching quilts in the Muslim area of Ahmedabad where she was instrumental in forming the first Cooperative in SEWA.
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Renana Jhabvala was active in fostering the growth of SEWA across India, taking the experiences of the organisation to States like Madhya Pradesh and Bihar and most recently to Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
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Renana Jhabvala was instrumental in forming SEWA Bharat, a National Federation of SEWAs now in 17 States of India.
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Renana Jhabvala has been active at the international level, representing SEWA at the International Labour Organization in 1995 and 1996 during the discussion on Convention for Home Workers; and subsequently in 2002 during the Resolution on the Informal Economy.
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Renana Jhabvala is presently the Chair of HomeNet South Asia.
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Renana Jhabvala is one of the founders and present Chair of WIEGO and has been active in the formation of international networks for women workers in the informal economy.
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Renana Jhabvala has been active in many Government committees and task forces which have formulated policies ranging from National Policy for Street Vendors, to the Law for Social Security of Unorganised Workers, to policies for unorganised workers in various States.
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Renana Jhabvala has written widely on these issues in journals and newspapers and has co-authored seven books.