Monday, September 10, 2012

Every house to become a hotel.....

The Ministry is preparing a draft Bill that would entitle housewives a monthly income from their husbands.

The Bill is likely to be presented before Parliament within six months.

Union Minister for Women and Child Development Krishna Tirath said the proposal was aimed at empowering women.
I am not sure what kind of empowerment she is hoping to achieve from this idiotic move!

Personally, I love to take care of my family. At times I may complain but nothing is perfect in our lives. But the immense satisfaction that I get when I make a healthy and tasty meal cannot be bought. And imagine if my Hubby after one such meal gives me money! It will be like a slap on my face since I then become just a paid maid!

But our Krishna Tirath has this explanation:

“A majority of women in India are involved in household chores after getting married but they do not get any salary for it. The socially accepted behaviour becomes a tragedy when a woman gets divorced or is widowed when she is left with nothing for survival.
So her problem is that divorced or widowed women is left with nothing. Don't we already have laws for paying annuity? And widows are normally entitled to her husband's wealth and government employees even have widow pensions. So what is she up to? Is it because she cannot solve the real issues, like dowry and dowry deaths.

As per the National Crime Records Bureau, the number of dowry deaths have increased in India.

In 2010, 8391 dowry death cases were reported across India, meaning a bride was burned every 90 minutes, according to statistics recently released by the National Crime Records Bureau.

A decade earlier this number was 6995, but climbed to 8093 dowry deaths in 2007.

Dowry, although banned by law in 1961 but never seriously enforced, is an ancient tradition prevalent amongst most Indian families.

Dowry has been banned only in papers but in reality, families continue to pay for a groom. A girl becomes a bride only if she is accompanied by an appropriate dowry, no matter what other educational qualification she holds. The minute a daughter is born, the hapless parent is forced to hoard gold/money so that he can purchase a groom for his daughter. Some people say that dowry is so ingrained in the hearts of the Indians that it cannot be done away with and for some it is a matter of pride! This pride is alright for the rich and the upper middle class but for those below, it is never a matter of pride but it is only out of necessity that a dowry is paid. No dowry means the girl shall stay at home. And for this the parents stop enjoying their lives so that their daughter can have a life. Even then this life is not always guaranteed. And now if she needs to be paid too then the marriage is already in the rocks. And how in the world are they planning to monitor? If monitoring is such an easy task, then why don't they monitor dowry and domestic violence? Even men are being harassed these days.

And if pocket money is the real issue then why don't a fixed amount of money be kept in the bank under the bride's name soon after marriage? This can serve multiple purpose. This is being done everywhere these days since dowry was stopped. The parents transfer the "dowry" to the bank under the name of the daughter. She can then decide to spend it the way she likes.

In my opinion this "salary" to be paid after marriage is as demeaning as the dowry that is being paid before marriage. Unless one stops treating a bride and groom as commodities in the market nothing is going to change. Treat a girl as just another human being and give her all the education that is possible. Solve problems like female foeticide and try to change the cultural attitude of Indians that make them take dowry, kill baby girls, yearn for baby boys over girls and then maybe everything shall be solved. Instead, please don't come up with ridiculous solutions that shall solve no problem but is like pouring oil over already troubled waters.

6 comments:

  1. Thoughtful post, HK! Yes, in many cases the bride and groom are treated like commodities, and continue to be treated so even after years of marriage.

    Salaries for housewives? And what if the housewife falls ill and cannot work? Will her 'employer' cut pay for the duration of her illness?

    It's a stupid bill and makes a mockery of the institution of marriage!

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    Replies
    1. Manju: Thank you.. it is indeed a stupid bill and will only injure the insitution of marriage further.. not sure what these people are upto...but what surprised me was that dowry is still not considered as demeaning as this new evil..

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  2. I do not have an idea about the antecedents of this quixotic minister.
    Now if empowering women is the motive , why did the Congress government under Rajiv Gandhi with surprising haste voice its opinion against the progressive judgement of the Supreme court in the Shah Bano cas ???
    Why do the government shy away from enforcing the common civil code in matters of alimony and maintenance for spouse ( wife)?

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    Replies
    1. Anil: If empowerment is the motive the government can come up with much better solutions... the two cases you mentioned does show that the govt. is not serious at all.. even otherwise the world says that the 6th powerful woman resides in India, yet the women in our country needs to be paid by her husband to achieve empowerment! I would love to be present amongst these women lovers one day and actually witness what they discuss.... one can have a hearty laugh at least.

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  3. well well that is certainly interesting. the idea of balance is fine, but what is going to happen is that sooner or later the institution of marriage is going to fall or break apart, like it has in many other countries...

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  4. Maddy: Guess it may break apart if it goes this way... but the alternative does not look very good either...

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