Payment to Housewives? No thank you.

It has hit the news recently that for the Tamil Nadu State Elections scheduled in May 2021, Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam (People's Justice Centre) has promised that if voted to power, the party would pay housewives for their work.

The party has probably felt a need to propose this idea because despite 48% of Indian population being female, there is a gross gender disparity in employment.  It is estimated that over 63.7% of Indian women are engaged in unpaid domestic work, contributing less than their potential to the economy. So paying housewives for domestic work is a fair step to not only boost our economy but also to provide financial autonomy to women. Isn't it?

Actually, no. A loud and clear no. Allow me to begin from a seemingly unrelated point of gender history.  A few centuries ago, we lived in an era of Gender Polarization- where men, the brave and the strong, were the first class citizens and women, the weak and the dependent,  were the second class citizens. Then, moving further, since the last century, we have seen an era of Gender Freedom.  This was the time when women began asserting their rights and feminist movements refused to tolerate the second class treatment bestowed upon women. And today, we live in an era of Gender Integration, where men and women are treated equally, at least, theoretically.  This era has also seen the members of LGBTQA+ community asserting their identity and rights.

Now  the tricky part is that, the elements of all the three eras will never leave us completely.  That is why, in today's age of Gender Integration too, there are many women who face discrimination and are striving for equality.  In such situations,  think of the impact ideas like payment to housewives for doing their work would have, particularly in countries like India,  where gender roles have historically been unsupportive towards women. Ideas like this would force us to take a sharp U-turn on the road towards progress, as it would fortify the existing gender roles, of a Man being the Breadwinner and a Woman being the Caretaker of a family. 

Reports suggest that nearly 61.3% of Indian housewives do not undertake domestic chores out of their personal choice,  but they do so because of no other viable alternative, owing to lack of educational, vocational and employment opportunities. Many women simply have to become housewives,  as this was the only career they were taught of since their childhood. So, for the development of our economy,  should the government pay housewives for doing their domestic chores, or should it improve education and create vocational and skill-based training programs and self employment opportunities for women right from the grassroot level,  so that women can enter the active workforce and actually contribute something to the economy? Clearly the latter. 

Paying housewives for their work would further decrease the participation of women in income-generating activities,  because if women would be paid for doing domestic chores, it would be easier for their guardians to pressurize them in not seeking employment elsewhere,  as ultimately,  पैसा तो आ रहा है ना? So why should she work outside? 

Payment for any job should be based on the nature of work, rather than the gender roles associated with it.  Technically,  with this logic, even househusbands and co-partners in the case of a same-sex couple need to be paid for doing domestic chores.  If Makkal Needhi Maiam is batting for equality with its proposed  idea, then it has to include the above mentioned parameters too.

 

"आखिर तुम काम क्या करती हो?" Lakhs of Indian housewives are subjected to this question even today, as the general notion is such that a housewife just sits at home, right? So the Party's proposal to pay housewives for doing domestic chores aims at enhancing their dignity in the society. But, dignity cannot be bought by money. How can one assign a salary for giving birth to children, feeding every member of the family, taking care of the elderly and turning a house into a home? The truth is that, one cannot. What one can do, however, is, respect a housewife, and acknowledge the fact that her work is also work. Sure, it will take time for this change to come, but it is this dignity and not the monetary one, that every housewife yearns for.

A true socialist always wants real economic equilibrium. A true feminist always wants equality of all the sexes. Ideas like paying housewives for their work, aim to achieve neither of the two. So, according to me, housewives should not be paid for doing domestic chores.

Thank you for reading this post and I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. We'll meet again soon with a next post!!

Bbye

Until next time