On the 50th day of the protest, Padmajam from Trivandrum decided to join the other women in chopping off her hair, except, unlike the hundreds of others who cut off a few inches, she went and shaved it all off.

It was an extreme step — one that marked her frustration with the Kerala government. Despite nearly two months of protest, the government has not given in to the demands of her fellow ASHAs (accredited social health activists). At nearly 62, Padmajan is running out of time before she retires after working for 17 years as an ASHA.

Sitting in front of the secretariat building from where she and thousands of her fellow ASHAs have been protesting for close to two months, many of the women were weeping. “This act of shearing their hair, a raw and powerful gesture of defiance and anguish, was unlike anything seen in India’s history, before or after Independence,” writes journalist Rejimon Kuttapan who specializes in workers’ rights. “It struck a powerful chord, drawing quiet waves of empathy from those who witnessed it.”

Tasked with implementing the goals of the National Health Mission, the 26,225 ASHAs in the state work seven days a week for up to 10 hours a day, says MA Bindu, state general secretary of the Kerala ASHA Health Workers Association (KAHWA). “After completing their field work and palliative care duty, they have to write reports…there is hospital duty for four days in a month,” she says. For this they........

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