If the Women and Child Development Ministry has its way, homemakers will be legally designated as ‘home engineers’ and will get 10-20 per cent of their husband’s salary. The idea is to empower homemakers. But will it really do this?
Why we’re discussing this
This proposal is aimed at empowering homemakers who have no access to funds and are dependent completely on their husbands for any expense. In a lot of families, men do not give any money to their wives, let alone a salary. They do not pay for their family’s requirements or their children’s education, and beat up their wives when they ask for money. Some financially independent women may find this proposal belittling, but there must be many who will welcome the proposal. The logistics involved in it may be difficult—for instance, how can you quantify housework and the sacrifices the homemaker makes? Nevertheless, this is a good move.
Thanks, but no thanks!
This will just make the homemaker a glorified maid. And this, in turn, will affect the relationship between the husband and wife—what if he says he is unhappy with the quality of work done by the wife?
How do you ensure that the wife actually gets to spend the money on whatever she wants? The idea may be to empower women, but this proposal might not be all that positive. To avoid ambiguity in these financial matters, there has to be an act around it, such as those governing laborers and employees. Also, a labor office has to be set up for governance and to ensure that the law is enforced. Additionally, someone needs to maintain the accounts and have regular audits conducted. But considering that we are talking in terms of a family here, how is one going to go about his job without infringing into the family’s personal space?
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