These include limited access or absence of social security programmers' and basic services such as health care, child care, insurance, water and sanitation, housing and legal protection against sexual and family harassment. While some of these programmes are available to workers of the formal sector, they do not reach the self-employed women workers. At the same time, the community support systems which traditionally existed have begun to disintegrate because of the pressures of poverty, urbanization deforestation and other factor.

Further, these women frequently recognize the importance of health care, child care, insurance and other social services in their lives. As Kunverba, a mid-wife and agricultural labourer from Sanand Taluka puts it : “As long as my arms and legs move and my eyes can see. I can work and earn, after that who knows? For us poor Women, our bodies and health are our only wealth”.

Consequently, women have been articulating the need for social services and security systems. After some economic gains have been made, the women repeatedly expressed the need for health and child care programmes.
In addition, we have found that organizing these women on health and child care issues can be a focal point for further organizing on economic and other issues. In Kheda district’s villages, for example, tobacco workers with high vulnerability express the need for health care, with regular contact through health activities, a close relationship was built between the tobacco workers and MST. This culminated in a greater readiness to unite and unionize than before, and also in demand for workers education classes.

In response to Self employed women’s needs, MST initiated several programmers' of its own. MST tries to emphasize that its programmers' are part of the efforts to support further organizing of these women. Thus for example, women involved in health activities are encouraged to demand cheap and safe medicine or water and sanitation from the local authorities. It is also emphasized that rather than passively waiting for social services. We have to organize and struggle to make ourselves seen and heard to obtain these.

MST’s social security programmers' have over the years included child care centres, health care schemes, smokeless ‘chulhas’, water and sanitation activities, housing schemes, and insurance programmes.

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