Women who provide rural health care should be paid more

• Women serving as Anshakalin Stri Parichars (ASPs) in Maharashtra perform crucial but underrecognized labor in the rural health system.

• Their monthly wage has been stagnant at ₹3,000 since 2016, which is significantly below inflation and lacks job security, pensions, safety gear, and travel allowances.

• A Nagpur labour court in 2023 recognized their need for protection under the Minimum Wages Act, yet the State has only promised an increase to ₹6,000 by December 2025, falling short compared to multipurpose health workers.

• ASPs, as poor rural women, face neglect within a gendered and caste-influenced hierarchy of labor in public health, where their skilled work is undervalued.

• Ongoing protests across various regions echo similar grievances of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), who also face challenges such as lack of fixed honoraria, recognition as government staff, and social security.

• India’s reliance on women health workers for maternal and child health care, immunization, and disease surveillance in rural areas is contrasted with a refusal to acknowledge them as entitled workers, leading to exploitation.

• These women face dangers on the job, including risks of snakebite and accidents, without insurance or compensation.

• To ensure rural health, it is essential to secure the rights of these women by providing living wages, safe working conditions, and stable employment.

Empower Women Health Workers is important topic for Civil service exam (WBCS).

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