Desperate Housewives

They take care of their children, their husbands and the elder people in the house. They do all the household chores. They are the Queens of the world’s smallest kingdom – The Home. How are we ever going to make up for the sacrifice they have done for us? ‘’Let’s pay them’’, says the Ministry of Women and Child Development of India.

As always, many blah-blahs went on among various groups, on the government’s proposal of making it compulsory for a husband to pay 10% to 20% of his salary to his wife. Somehow, I feel that the word ‘genesis’ is the most important while discussing any issue. Let us try to find the genesis of this problem of women not being given proper credit for their work in their homes.

When it was only ‘Hunt and Eat’, the stronger males went out hunting and the gentler females stayed back to look after the young ones. The men did not get a bonus when they hit a deer instead of the usual rabbit. That was one happy family. But as trade and cultivation grew, men were being paid for their outside work in order to buy food and that’s when the problem started. Men got a token of recognition for their work and the women did not. Then came; men’s domination over women and many other related issues.

Today, Indian society is accused of not giving a woman her due respect for her exertions at home and there is the case of abusive husbands as well. The government intends to solve this problem, which actually arose due to money, with money. Well, good luck!

I did not endorse the idea initially. I thought it was like paying a caring mother and a caring wife for her affection. No it’s not. What the government actually intends to do is give some honorarium to the women who spend their lives cleaning the house and washing the clothes; doing overtimes over and over again. That is not a bad proposal at all.

The upper class is not going to worry about it and among the middle class, the percentage of women going for outside work is increasing every day. The lower income groups, who cannot afford house maids, are the ones who are going to have any effect of this proposal. Let’s say there is an abusive husband, who only gives a very little of his earnings to his wife. This proposal of giving 10 to 20% of the earnings is not going to help as it is not going to count any higher than what she was initially getting.

This proposal might help women when there is a really abusive husband; when a husband gives very little or no money. Apart from these cases, I am not sure how this is going to have a telling effect on the broader community. How do you evaluate the work of a housewife? Is 10 to 20% her worth?  I think what a woman might need is love from the family whom she is taking care of. Not money.

The government’s intent of empowering women is immaculate, but, is this the right method of doing it? Giving them allowance in medicinal attention, teaching them self employment methods to get their own income; will these be better ideas?

The solution is yet to be found, but, I guess I do not meet the basic qualifications to take this issue any deeper. I am not married and the real feelings of a housewife might elude me. Open to public view.

Swasthika Sang