Anweshi's formation as a women's movement and women's organization has its roots in the Anweshi Women's Counselling Centre, established in November 1993. The centre is part of a network of small, radical, women's emancipation groups in Kerala called the Kerala Sthree Vedi (Kerala Women's Forum), that was formed in 1996.

The KSV is a common forum for diverse women's groups to plan joint action for political demands of the women's movement. Anweshi began work in a context when Kerala society is historically experiencing the bitter fruits of economic and cultural globalization and its resulting transformation of the lives of women.

Anweshi reaches out to women in rural and urban areas of northern Kerala through a network of community workers who maintain constant contact with local areas and intervene in gender issues.

Anweshi provides an active forum for collective intervention on women's issues through the Counselling centre which untangles cases of domestic violence, through legal aid and literacy workshops in remote areas, and campaigns designed to heighten awareness on sexual harassment and gender related issues. As a result of sustained work, cases which sometimes fail at the police stations or courts are now being referred to Anweshi.