‘So long as our SEWA is with us, we can win any fight’ - A social movement organisation’s framing of the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on informal women workers in India

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted our lives and created wide-reaching impacts. Societies worldwide have confronted the crisis with grassroots mobilisation and social resilience. Civil society uncovers injustices by actively participating in the local decentralised pandemic response. This micro-level study provides insight into a long-standing social movement organisation’s framing of the crisis. A qualitative content analysis investigates the Self-Employed Women’s Association’s (SEWA) role as an influential grassroots actor in India and its adaptation to crisis settings. Core framing tasks identified from online textual materials demonstrate SEWA and informal women workers’ struggles and responses. The study provides an insight into the complexities of poor women’s concerns while revealing pandemic ground realities and mobilisation efforts. SEWA’s interpretation of the crisis draws on preceding advocacy for the recognition and rights of informal women workers. To foster inclusion, SEWA accentuates the importance of community involvement, collaborations, and making marginalised voices heard. The paper increases the understanding of global crises through the lens of a leading social actor’s framing to achieve social and economic change.