Labour of care: on the Anshakalin Stri Parichars, women community health workers

For decades, the women who serve as Anshakalin Stri Parichars (ASPs) in Maharashtra have been performing some of the hardest, yet least acknowledged, labour in the rural health system. For a wide breadth of responsibility, their monthly wage has stagnated at ₹3,000 since 2016, decades behind inflation. They also lack job security, pensions, safety gear and travel allowance. In 2023, a labour court in Nagpur acknowledged that they deserved at least the protection of the Minimum Wages Act but left the decision to the State. In keeping with its verbal-only assurances, the State has even now only promised them ₹6,000 a month by December 2025 — much less than what multi-purpose health workers receive. The indifference is not accidental: ASPs, who predate Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA