SEWA, registered as trade union in 1972, evolved as an organization of poor, selfemployed women workers who earned living through their own labor or small businesses. These women, unlike the workers in the organized sector, did not obtain regular salaried employment with welfare benefits. As per estimates of the female labor force in India more than 94 percent had been in the unorganized sector (source: www.sewa.org). This unorganized sector consisted of jobs as diverse as hawkers, vendors, head-loading goods in markets, stitching cloths at home, rolling beedis and weaving cloth. SEWA's main goals had been to organize women workers to achieve their goals of full employment and self-reliance.