Veera Kabir

Indian social entrepreneur who created Asia's first women-led cooperative federation

Veera Kabir (1912-1978) was a revolutionary Indian activist whose Women's Empowerment Collective transformed rural economies. Starting in 1943 in West Bengal, she organized 12,000 women into self-help groups that managed farms, textile cooperatives, and credit unions. Her Rotating Savings and Credit Associations became the model for microfinance institutions globally. Kabir's 1955 <《Strength in Numbers》 outlined her cooperative philosophy that remains a reference in development economics.

Her most impactful initiative was the Seed Sovereignty Program, which preserved 150 native crop varieties through women's seed banks. This saved countless communities from famine during the 1960s droughts. Kabir's Mobile Health Units, staffed entirely by female healthcare workers, provided maternal care to 500,000+ women in remote areas. Though overshadowed by male leaders of her time, her work inspired India's 1972 Women's Property Rights Act.

Today, the Kabir Foundation operates 300 cooperatives across South Asia. Her original ledger books show how she systematically excluded men from cooperative management roles. The United Nations cited her model in their 1975 Global Women's Development Report. Her legacy continues through the annual Kabir Awards for Women's Economic Empowerment.