Paid Housework

Assembly elections are due in Tamil Nadu and Makkal Needhi Maiam, the political party led by superstar of South Kamal Haasan, has made an election promise to pay the women for their work at home. This has also been endorsed by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. Well, for MNM, this might be a move to attract one of the largest voter bases, i.e. Women but is it actually feasible?

(Source: www.sheroes.com)

First of all, salaries are for workers who actually contribute to our GDP, where is the home-maker's role?

Well, homemakers do not directly build a product or provide chargeable services to others. But, they do provide services to the earning members of the family for free, which results into having a good enough lifestyle at much cheaper rates. This means industries can keep them happy in lower salaries too and invest the saved capital in contributing more to GDP. So, there do exist indirect benefits for the economy.

But, how does one measure and value the household work?

For example, a woman in the rural area might have to toll much harder than her urban counterpart since she might have to go to the fields or take care of the cattle. Also, if a woman is earning well but has to contribute at home after office-hours, does she need that meagre amount by state? If one has a house-help, does she get paid less than or equal to the full-time homemakers?

What about men?

Often, we see controversies around Indian legal system that laws are biased against males and do not focus on their problems comprehensively. So, the issue arises that would only women be considered as homemakers or would the scheme cover men too? Salaries for the household work only for women also means men completely shirking the household responsibilities and, umm, women being more restricted to the patriarchal role of being a homemaker.

Also, who pays for that?

According to the party's agenda, state govt. would be making the payments. But do we not have already enough of doles being given out to various categories of voters since decades? And when the govt. tries to cancel these schemes, we see protests. Why burden the exchequer more?

If someone says that since woman is enabling the man of the house attend his occupation properly, so some percentage of his salary can be shared with the woman too. Well, what if the husband is earning barely to survive, how does he manage?

Wouldn't it corrode the equation of equality between the couple (which we already don't see much!) and establish a employer-employee relationship between them?

Any way forward?

First, we should have the labour by domestic workers regulated who work in other people's homes. They need proper salaries and leave system, protection from harassment at work place which is a private space being someone's home. Children are forced into bonded labour as domestic helps and meted out cruel treatment with no place to escape. So, need of the hour is recognising the value of domestic helps and protecting their dignity.

Also, as the country has been contemplating Universal Basic Income, we can have some provisions for homemakers too like transferring the total amount directly into only their accounts.

For a long time, women have been fighting for equal opportunities and shattered glass-ceilings. Provide them equal wages, first. Finally when we are on the right path having taken the initial steps correctly, we can focus on the appropriate remuneration for homemakers too.