Women’s ‘voluntary’ and uniquely underpaid care work undergirds our economy and underwrites the guarantee of primary healthcare in India, as adopted by the Indian government via the Alma-Ata Declaration. In Kerala, a state with a long history of women’s movements and worker mobilising, ASHA workers — the true functionaries of this healthcare system — organised a 266-day strike to demand recognition and compensation for their work.
In all the years I’ve spent as a journalist, I can think of stories of ASHAs (Accredited Social Health Activist) from almost every state I’ve worked in.
