Vela Kapadia

A pioneering Indian social reformer who revolutionized women's education in rural India through grassroots initiatives

Vela Kapadia (1905-1987) emerged as a transformative figure in early 20th century India, dedicating her life to empowering women through education. Born into a Parsi family in Mumbai during British colonial rule, she witnessed the stark gender disparities in access to education. At age 16, she founded the Girls' Vocational Training School in 1921, one of India's first institutions offering technical education to women. This initiative challenged traditional norms that restricted women to domestic roles.

In 1935, she established the Women's Industrial Training Centre in Ahmedabad, training over 5,000 women in skills like tailoring and weaving. Her work directly contributed to the economic independence of rural women, enabling them to earn livable wages. During World War II, she mobilized women's cooperatives to produce textiles for the war effort, demonstrating their economic potential.

Kapadia's 1948 publication Women's Work and Worth became a seminal text in feminist economics. She later founded the Vela Kapadia Institute in 1956, which continues her mission today. Her approach combined vocational training with literacy programs, creating a model replicated across South Asia. By the 1960s, her network of 120 training centers had educated over 50,000 women, significantly impacting India's gender parity indices.

Her legacy is preserved through the National Social Reform Registry, and her methods influenced global development policies. Kapadia's insistence on practical skill development over purely academic education remains a cornerstone of modern women's empowerment strategies worldwide.