Why Is The Financial Agency Of Homemakers Still Unaddressed?

Today, being a homemaker is not a shame. It is often a well-informed choice that women make without feeling subjugated or forced. Despite the lack of respect towards homemakers prevailing in many communities in India, couples are trying to erase it by balancing their lives. However, even today, homemakers are not paid for their hard work. So they have to depend on their husbands for financial needs. In a balanced relationship, this shouldn't be an issue because husbands understand that their wives who choose to work at home for the family's welfare too have financial needs. It is their responsibility to provide it without any question. Yet, the slippery slope of patriarchal internalisations makes men judgemental of women who ask for money from them. 

Why Is The Financial Agency Of Homemakers Still Unaddressed?

Recently, I came across a reel which addressed this issue. In the modern world, being a homemaker is not a shame. Women willingly do it for the sake of the family and themselves. Not just women, men too are ready to embrace the role of homemaker for maintaining a balance in the relationship. While the fog on the importance of homemakers is slowly clearing, their financial agency still remains somewhat unaddressed. 

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A post shared by Anjali G Kothari | Family & Relationship Coach (@anjali.gorang)

Financial independence of homemakers

In the reel, Instagram user, Anjali Gorang, posted an explainer about the rights of homemakers to seek money from their husbands without being judged or questioned for it. She starts the reel by addressing a query she received. In the query, a woman said that she is a homemaker and this was a mutual decision of her and her partner. Still, when she needs money and has to ask for it from her husband every time, she doesn't feel comfortable.

Anjali Gorang replied by saying that she was in a similar situation. Then, Gorang's husband provides us with the husband's perspective. He says, "I thought it was being fair when I told my wife that whenever you need money, ask for it. When she asked for money, I used to ask out of curiosity why do you need it." 

He further adds, "This made her feel judged and questioned. This could have been because in childhood when she asked money from her caregivers, she was judged." 

Concluding his point, he rightly says, "Dear men, I truly believe we have good intentions and we trust our women. That they will spend the money wisely. Then doesn't it make sense that we give money to our women every month and never question where they spend it so that they don't need to ask?" 

Homemakers are equally capable of financial independence as salaried employees

The role of homemakers is nothing less than any salaried worker. They have to work throughout the day getting less to no time to actually relax. They have to cater to the needs of the entire family which overwhelms them so much that they forget themselves and put themselves in the last. 

But signing up to be a homemaker doesn't mean a person is stripped of their other needs. They still need certain luxuries and basic requirements. The homemaker is not the only one who runs in and out of the kitchen. But also the one who has the independence to do, seek or buy anything. Just like a salaried employee, homemakers too must be financially and socially independent. 

Courts' judgements that empower Homemakers

Indian courts have recently made phenomenal judgements about the empowerment of homemakers. In February, the Supreme Court of India said that the value of a homemaker is no less than the one who brings home a salary from the office. The court termed the effort put in by homemakers as "invaluable" that cannot be measured only in monetary terms.

According to a bench of justices, Suryan Kant and KV Viswanathan, the work a homemaker does is of "high order" that is hard to quantify in monetary terms. “The role of a homemaker is as important as that of a family member whose income is tangible. If the activities performed by a homemaker are computed one by one, there cannot be any doubt that the contribution is of a high order and is invaluable. It is difficult to compute her contributions only in monetary terms." 

In March,  the Karnataka High Court observed that childcare is a full-time job. It was dealing with a plea by a husband who denied paying maintenance to his wife because she sits idle at home even though she is capable of employment.

Justice M. Nagaprasanna who was presiding over the case recognised the exhaustive duty of a mother while rearing a child and called it a full-time commitment. He also highlighted the sacrifices the mother made by giving up her job to take care of the children. The court refused to accept the idea that her role is limited to sustaining their existence. 

Hence, the court increased the interim maintenance payable to a woman from Rs 18,000 to Rs 36,000.

The above two judgements point out that the law recognises the importance of homemakers and their capability to be financially empowered. However, we still don't have any system that pays homemakers. Until that happens, husbands must step up and take care of their wives' financial needs who sacrificed their careers and education to take care of the family. Husbands must not consider their wives as a child who must explain why they need money. Women must have the freedom to ask for money without being questioned. In fact, not even ask, husbands must provide it willingly, as Gorang's husband said. 

Views expressed are the author's own.