Video SEWA (India)

The Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) is a trade union formed in 1972 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, to fight for the rights of women workers, who are the majority in the self-employed sector. It is both an organization and a movement, each strengthening and carrying forward the other. Gandhian philosophy is the inspiration for SEWA; the poor self-employed SEWA members organize for social change through the path of nonviolence and truth. The struggle is against the many constraints and limitations imposed on them by society and the economy, whereas their development activities strengthen their bargaining power and offer them new alternatives.

Among the most emblematic and pioneering participatory video experiences worldwide, Video SEWA is a cooperative started in 1984 when the late Martha Stuart, an international video communications consultant, held a 3-week video production workshop at SEWA in Gujarat. Twenty women, most of them illiterate, began to make video documentaries on the daily life of their communities. The group included women of all ages, some Muslims and some Hindus, vendors from the market, as well as senior organizers from SEWA.

For more than 15 years, Video SEWA has shown that even an apparently sophisticated technology like video can be tackled and used effectively by workers. The power of the medium and its potential for organizing the poor by raising awareness and bringing issues to the forefront is beyond doubt.

Initially they shot their videos in sequence, editing in camera, until they received additional training and equipment. By 1999, four permanent staff members were dedicated to video production. Many video documentaries on issues of the self-employed women have been shot, edited, and shown by the workers themselves. The producers of these tapes can conceptualize a script, shoot, record sound, and edit, although many of them cannot find the tape on the shelf when they need it because they cannot read or write. Video has become an important instrument for SEWA and has contributed to the strengthening of the organization.

Video SEWA has proved that video can aid by bridging barriers of distance, class, and culture so that people of very different backgrounds can grasp and empathize with each other's concerns. For the 1991 census, Video SEWA produced My Work, Myself, a 15-minute program addressed to Gujarati women, which reached an audience of approximately a half-million women through cassette playbacks and was broadcast on state television. Videos produced by SEWA women are used for different purposes. Manek Chowk, a video about the poor conditions of vendors and hawkers at Manek Chowk, a vegetable market in Ahmedabad, was an advocacy tool that helped to raise consciousness. Others were training productions, such as videos on oral rehydration therapy and building smokeless stoves.

When organizing in rural villages and urban slums, video can act as a magnet for people to meet and start discussions on the issues portrayed. The instant playback feature is one of its most empowering qualities; it enables continuous participation and immediate feedback. This aspect allows those who are the subject and those who run the technology to collaborate as equals.

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