Will 'Housewives' in India get a Salary from their Husbands for their "Home-Making"?

Indian Union Ministry for Women and Child Development (WCD)

has conducted a survey on the theme” whether salary be paid to Indian Housewives by the husbands for the work done and services rendered by them to their:

Husbands,
Children,
Grand-Children and
In-Laws and
Other Relatives/Guests etc.

The WCD Ministry, triggered by some NGO’s interested in Socio-Economic Empowerment of Women in India,. has started the process of:

Taking a Survey,
Having Discussions with the Ministers of Different States,
Taking Steps to prepare a Draft Bill and
Passing the Bill as a Law.

As and if the proposal for providing salary for the housewives is implemented, the husbands will have to

pay a certain portion from their salaries/incomes to be credited to separate bank accounts of the wives.

The salary received by the housewives is supposed to be spent on better food, facilities, education, recreation and the overall quality of standard of living of the entire household.

According to the WCD Ministry, in spite of the Indian housewives doing very valuable and difficult works for themselves, their husbands, children and other members of the families, the value of their works go unaccounted and the same is not taken into account while assessing the GDP of the country.

At the outset, it appears that Indian women will welcome the ‘theme’ of getting salary for being housewives.

However, the ‘theme’ will change the real love, affection and the basic relation between the husband and wife, perhaps bringing in a employer-employee relationship.

Instead of making the law to provide for the ‘salary’ to the housewife, some other schemes may be introduced such as statutory-minimum/compulsory life-insurance, medical insurance, investments etc. for the housewives and children.

The Survey/discussions on the ‘theme’ should have come across many cases of unemployed/under-employed husbands of employed wives looking after the home-affairs.

Will such“house-husbands’ also get salary from their wives?

Though the ‘theme’ appears to be for the benefit of housewives, the outcome will be bringing disgrace to the institution of the sacred marriages in India.

Men will be discouraged to get married and divorces will be increased as an impact of such a ‘theme’.

Let us hope that the WCD Ministry will ensure equality of men and women in the employments, salary etc. in India in both public and private sectors.