As I write these words, I have just returned from an emotional visit to striking ASHA workers in Thiruvananthapuram. I write this column not just as a supporter of ASHA workers but as a citizen who believes in fairness, justice, and dignity for those who serve us every single day.

ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activists, a programme started as part of the National Rural Health Mission in 2005 by Dr.Manmohan Singh’s government) is an unsung scheme that deserves far more recognition than it gets. ASHA workers are the unknown heroes of our healthcare system. They are the ones who rush to a mother in labour at midnight, who ensure our children get vaccinated, who educate families on hygiene, and who walk miles -- without complaint -- to deliver medicines to the elderly. They collect and file accurate medical data of people around the state. They do not ask for fame or luxury. All they ask for is fair wages, dignity, and recognition for their tireless work.

And yet, today, these women -- who saved thousands of lives during the COVID-19 pandemic -- are being forced to strike for what is rightfully theirs.

What is shocking is the extent to which we seem to be blind to their suffering.

Would you work 12 to 14 hours a day without a fixed salary? Would you leave your own sick child at home to take care of another family, knowing that at the end of the month, you might not even get paid? And yet why do you -- we -- expect ASHA workers to do just that?

This is the cruel reality of our ASHA workers today. The government owes them months of wages and incentives. They have no fixed working hours. They have no retirement benefits. They are treated as ‘volunteers’ instead of healthcare workers, even though they do work that saves........

© Mathrubhumi English