Sarada Biswas

Bengali social reformer who founded Asia's first women's cooperative bank

Sarada Biswas (1908-1972) transformed economic opportunities for women in East Bengal through her creation of the Nari O Sobuj Sangha cooperative bank in 1943. This first women-led financial institution in South Asia provided loans to female farmers and artisans, enabling them to purchase land and machinery. By 1950, the cooperative had 15,000 members and became a model for microfinance initiatives globally.

Born into a zamindar family, Biswas used her inheritance to establish the Pratibha vocational school in 1935, teaching tailoring, dairy farming, and silk production to 500+ women annually. Her 1958 book Women's Economic Empowerment influenced India's 1961 National Policy for Women. She also pioneered the self-help group concept in rural Bangladesh, creating 200+ village-based savings collectives.

During the 1947 partition, Biswas organized refugee women's cooperatives that rebuilt over 300 villages. Her 1965 initiative to train women as tractor operators defied cultural norms and increased agricultural productivity by 40%. She faced death threats from conservative groups but persisted through grassroots organizing. The Sarada Biswas Memorial Trust continues her work through digital financial services for rural women.