By, Mahika Govil
The recent supreme court judgement passed suggested that women should be paid for the household work. Household work is usually deemed ‘unskilled’ in the patriarchal framework of society, and is assumed to be the duty of a woman. With the court’s recent judgement, we can expect a change in the attitude towards women’s work and expect more awareness around the work they do at home and at work.
Remuneration for housework is a debatable topic. There are both advantages and disadvantages which must be considered while thinking about this subject. The most obvious advantage of paying citizens for housework is one that reflects liberal views such as ‘money for housework would offer dignity and respect.’ This argument is particularly important when we consider patriarchy because housework is typically a role for women instead of men. This means that if money for housework offers dignity and respect, it would raise the dignity and respect that India has for her women. Apart from paving the way for gender equality, there are other advantages as well. For example, India would have a more accurate estimate of our national income. Our national income is calculated without taking into account unpaid work, but if housework becomes a paid profession, our national income would have to consider it. I have no doubt that our national income will be much higher than the current estimate if we account for housework because about 160 million (census of 2011) are engaged in housework. IMF chief Christine Lagarde has also previously said that India must urgently focus on true inclusion of women in its economy. Lagarde said IMF research has shown that raising women’s participation in the workforce to the level of men can boost Indian economy by 27 per cent.
Recognition of women’s house household work, would also make them financially independent. Having financial independence will make women more self-sufficient and will give them the freedom to walk out of the marriage in case they want to.
“My mother is a homemaker. Growing up I watched the way she ran the house: it was nothing short of a professional. From stitching sweaters for us to wear in winters, to cooking all our meals, looking after all the guests, I never saw her sitting idle even for a second. Luxuries like chatting with her friends, and sleeping in the afternoon, were a rare sight when it came to my mother.”- Dr. Jyotsna Punj, professor at AIIMS.
However, there are two main issues or disadvantages with remuneration for housework. First, there is the conservative view which says that housework is done out of love and you cannot pay someone for doing something they love. I disagree with this line of thinking; housework is a job. Whether we love it or hate it, housework is a job. Any person doing housework must be paid for carrying out their job. Second, there is the much more compelling argument of ‘where will the money come from?’ Some might say that the money should come from the state. However, I fear that since our government is already in a cycle of debt, there is practically no money to pay so many houseworkers. The other option is for the money to come from the house worker’s spouse. Considering that most houseworkers are women, I fear that this would lead to more power for men. Men would have the upper hand because they control the money that they give their wives. This again strengthens the position of men and patriarchy.
“I believe awareness is the first step to recognising women’s work. We need to acknowledge the effort and time that goes into keeping the house functioning. Not assuming that women do this work only out of love but as a product of gender roles is where we should start” – student at Delhi University.
In conclusion, I believe that remuneration for housework is important. It could lead to gender equality, change how much we value housework and also lead to better estimates of our national income. However, the issue of where the money will come from poses a real obstacle which must be overcome in order to pay our hard working houseworkers.
