Being a ‘Lady Health Worker’ (or community health worker) in Bangladesh and Pakistan changes women’s status and relations at the level of the family, community, their organisation and society as a whole. The women’s improved standing in the community reflects the increasing recognition given to health care and family planning. As they are required to engage with households of all kinds, they are crossing class and caste barriers that would previously have denied them such direct access and mobility. They have become role models for what girls can aspire to if they are educated and what sort of employment women can carry out. The research also points to how governmental/organisational policies and assistance can support the transformation of women’s position in their communities and challenge restrictive practices such as ‘purdah’ or women’s seclusion.