What is a law?
As defined in Wikipedia (and copy pasted from here) :
Law is the set of enforced rules under which a society is governed. Law is one of the most basic social institutions-and one of the most necessary. No society could exist if all people did just as they pleased without regard for the rights of others. Nor could a society exist if its members did not recognize that they also have certain obligations toward one another. The law thus establishes the rules that define a person’s rights and obligations. The law also sets penalties for people who violate these rules, and it states how government shall enforce the rules and penalties. However, the laws enforced by government can be changed. In fact, laws frequently are changed to reflect changes in a society’s needs and attitudes.
The reason I went looking for the meaning of law is because I wanted to know what the implications of the “Salary for homemaker” law can be. I wanted to know what exactly a law does and how exactly it can be implemented. I am not well versed on Indian Laws, but I do, as a lay person , know that there are laws or rights for every citizen of the country. There are marriage laws, divorce laws, child support laws, adoption laws and plenty plenty more. The courage that these laws give us is the basis of many relationships. We know that if in our case , or in cases of anyone we know and care about, these laws or rights get violated, the case can be brought to court and the guity can be reprimanded, penalised or punished depending on the degree of abuse of the law.
As I read two or more articles on the web regarding “Salary for Homemakers” today, I realised that many Female Activist groups are against it because they are not sure how it can be implemented. Also that the relationship between a husband and wife or child and mother will be strained because of the law. I am not in total disagreement . But what I don’t understand is how exactly are they(the activists) expecting the law to be implemented (if ever). Truthfully, when I first heard about this , I too was imagining the government forcing every newly married couple to open a separate bank account for the wife and the government will help calculate the percentage in each case and also make sure that each and every man who gets married is forced to sign off a percentage of his salary every month to his wife. It does sound hideous and highly impossible to implement.
But on the other side of it, it makes perfect sense. The side that makes it punishable if the husband refuses to use a good part of his salary for taking care of his homemaker wife and children. And there are plenty like that in India. Under such circumstances either the homemaker wife retaliates and then Domestic Violence, Child Abuse and ultimately a Divorce happens or the homemaker decides to take up a job and support her children. Either of these happens, if and only if the homemaker is lucky enough to get the support she needs. What this salary law insures will be (totally in my viewpoint) that, if such a case comes into court without the DV and Abuse , there is law that can protect the homemaker. And the case will not die a premature death because of the lack of a law.
The law states that we have A freedom of speech. But there is no implementation for this law. In the sense, there are no guards standing in every corner to check if our freedom of speech is being violated. Some don’t speak at all, some speak and are appreciated, and sometimes the freedom gets violated, and there are laws to keep a check on this if a complaint is received. Similarly, if the existing system between husband and homemaker wife is going on smoothly , then there is no need to follow this law (which in most cases they already do) and hence no violation of any kind. But when the wheels of the home are not going on smoothly, then there can be a law that can be used to protect the homemaker and her kids before she gets violated physically and emotionally.
I do not know in what stage the discussions regarding this are or what the law is going to state and what the implementation or penalising procedures will be. But I do know that, if my understanding of the law and its implications as stated above, stands true, then I am all for such a law coming into action. I do think it is a good move in the direction of woman empowerment. A homemaker is appreciated and loved, I truly agree, but is there a problem if she gets a social working status too?
Disclaimer : I am no activist or a social worker. I am just an ordinary Indian woman. The post is only about my opinions about this law and hence not backed with statistics and verifiable data. I just wanted to exercise my freedom of speech in a way in which I believe can cause no harm to anyone.