The winter sun is shining in Delhi, and all clad in green, the Aaganwadis of Uttar Pradesh sit together at Jantar Mantar protesting for their rights. Sunita Shukla, a lean dusky woman explains why they are here, "ye hmaare haq ki baat hai. Hum dharna ker rhe hai taaki sarkar hmaari baat sune." (This is for our rights, We are protesting so that the Government will listen to us). More than 1000 Aanganwadi workers from all across Uttar Pradesh have gathered here fighting for their cause. They all are raising slogans, singing songs that talk about 'Mahila Shakti' (Women Empowerment) hoping that their voices will be heard.

Sunita has come from Bulandshahr, a city that is approximately 77.5kms from Delhi, only to participate in this day long protest. She'll be returning back home in the evening with others. She says being an Aanganwadi worker is a difficult task, "Hum bhut mehnat kerte hai, akele khade hoke sara kaam kerte hai, hame pta hai k hamara kaam bhut zroori hai, per hmara shoshan ho rha hai aur hame ye bardasht nhi" (We work hard, we single-handedly fulfill all our duties, we know our work is important but we are exploited and we will not tolerate that).


Aanganwadis were introduced by the Government of India in the year 1975 under the Child Development Services Program (CDSP) to combat child hunger and malnutrition. Their job description includes contraceptive counseling and supply, nutrition education and supplementation as well as pre-school education activities across Indian Villages. Therefore, the importance of Aanganwadis stands undisputed. Sunita and other Aanganwadis know this well too, "hum bachha peda hone se pehle maa ka dhyan rakhte hai, baccha peda hojae toh maa aur bacche dono ka dhyan rakhte hai phir bachhe ko khilate bhi hai aur padhate bhi hai. Ager hum na ho toh gaon ki kam padhi likhi mahilao ka kya hoga?" (We tend to pregnant women, then when the child is born we tend to the mother as well and the new born and then we help feed the child and teach the child. If we'll not exist then what will become of illiterate village women?)

Sunita is right. In its World Child report 2015, UNICEF acknowledged India's success on improving state of children. Aaganwadi is a crucial and an effective system. Then the question remains why are they in such a pathetic state.

Akhila Bharatiya Anganwadi Karmachari Mahasangh (ABAKM) in affiliation with Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh(BMS) today while performing the dharna is here to ask the same question. "These women deserve far better existence than the one they are forced to live in. These workers that have been protecting the mothers and children from malnutrition since last 39 years have themselves became victims of malnutrition due to abysmally low wages and absence of any social security. Why are they being subjected to such circumstances?," said B N Rai, President of BMS among the sloganeering.

The indispensible Aanganwadi system in India is managed by an Aaganwadi worker(AWW) who is majorly a women health worker chosen from the community and is provided with four months training in health, nutrition and child-care. She is in-charge of an Aaganwadi that covers a population of 1000. Then about 20-25 Aaganwadi Workers are monitored by a supervisor called Mukhyasevika. Which in turn are headed by a Childs Development Projects Officer(CDPO) per 4 Mukhyasevikas. In this chain of hierarchy, the one who does the most work and is paid the least are the AWWs. And this is precisely where their troubles begin.

"Mukhyasevika ji ko kam se kam 30-35000/- milte honge, unhe toh promotion bhi mil jaega, hum yhi k yhi reh jaaenge. Sabki seva kerte kerte khud he mit jaenge." (Mukhyasevika ji earns at least 30-35000/- and she might also get a promotion but us- We are going to die working for people) exclaims an elderly women sitting next to Sunita.

Even though essential to the society Aaganwadi work in miserable conditions. Just like a professional doctor their duty can call them anytime of the day and they'll have to tend to the needy. Most of the Aaganwadi Centre buildings are old and in dilapidated condition. Shortage of resources is another issue. Pertaining to all these shortcomings, the UPA Government allied another big scheme MNREGA along with the Aaganwadis. The work to construct new buildings was handed over to the MREGA which was to be funded by the Ministry of Women and Child Development(WCD). The coalition of these two schemes included construction of 3.5 Lakh Aaganwadi centre over a period of 5 years and the Aaganwadis serving as crèche for the MREGA workers' children, implemented in 2012. The other initiative that the Government took was introducing the NGOs into the Aaganwadi system. The talks of privatizing the whole Aaganwadi system across the nation are also on but both are heavily criticized by the AWW.


"Hame nhi chahiye kisi NGO ki maded. Hame sarkar rashan bhej diya kre toh hum khud bna liya krenge apna khana." (We don't need any NGOs. Government should send us the provisions and we can ourselves cook the meals) says Vimla Verma dismissively, who after observing from a distance finally decided to join the conversation. The workers complain the quality of food that the NGOs provide. They say that often the kids throw the food to animals. Also inclusion of NGOs they say hinders their administration too. The workers have to maintain registers of all their patients and children that are being volunteered. Interference of NGOs makes the task tedious, "Koi waja hai k kyu Aaganwadi gao ki he koi mahila hoti hai. Kyuki hum yha ka kam samajhte hai aur apne hisab se kerte hai." (There is a reason why an Aaganwadi is chosen from a village itself. It is because we know the work well and we do it as per the need be) explains Vimla, who is now the only women in the group speaking and while doing so a passionate fervor takes over her.

She explains that Aaganwadi women are being exploited. They work round the clock in conditions that are challenging. Sometimes the Government burdens them with supplementary work like the population count or during elections they are being stationed on various duties that were not even part of their job description. They earn hardly 3000-3500/- per month and the pay is easily delayed by 6-7 months. Many Aaganwadi workers are the sole bread earners of their house. They are either widows or women who have been harassed by their alcoholic and gambler husbands or simply those women who are trying to share the burden of running a household in this inflation with their husbands . For almost all the workers Aaganwadi work is an important source of income in their household. "Hame kaam se shikayat nhi hai, aamdani se shikayat hai, hame jo milta hai wo apman dhan hai mandhan nhi."(We are not complaining about the work we do, our complain is our low wages, what we are being paid is an insult for the work we do and not an honorarium) said Vimla charged with emotion.

The Aaganwadi system was conceived with the idea of local women helping the prenatal and nursing women plus children below 6years, with the consideration that these workers will be appointed as Volunteers who will be paid a stipend and not as Government employees with benefits. Since, in a population of 1000 only few hundred will be the target group in need of Aaganwadi services, therefore their wages too were kept minimum. They are not qualified doctors or specialists, many of them haven't even completed school. But with changing times, now Aaganwadi workers are demanding better social status for they are the ones now responsible for the overall village nourishment levels and child care.

They have staged approximately 25-30 dharnas in Delhi this year. The ABAKM officials have met Maneka Gandhi before who assured them 'more', but that was two months ago. So here they are again with the winter session going on in the parliament, appealing to their ministers.

"Hum bas izzat se jeena chahte hai, hame do waqt ki roti mil jae chain se, hamare karz uter jae, phir hame aur kuch nhi chahiye. Hame hmara kaam pasnd hai per daam nhi." (We want to live with respect and earn our meals prosperously, we want to pay our debts then we can live in peace ,we don't want any more than this. We like our job but not our pay) said Vimla who is almost on the verge of tears. She clears her throat, dabs her eyelashes with the corner of her 'pallu' and standing up she gives a pale-smile, she moves to join the crowd who is now getting louder with their slogans, and she cheers along, "Mahila me shakti hai, Haq k liye ladti hai." (Women have power, she'll fight for her right)

(Photos by A. Falak).

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