Progressive! Spain Court Orders Man To Pay Ex-Wife For Unpaid Domestic Labour

A Spanish court ordered a man to pay £1,80,000 (Rs. 1.75 crore) as compensation to his ex-wife for the unpaid domestic labour she had performed during the two decades they were married. The hefty divorce settlement was calculated on the basis of the annual minimum wage during the period of the couple’s marriage.

Judge Laura Ruiz Alaminos calculated the amount and awarded it to the ex-wife, Ivana Moral, for her service over the 20 years of marriage. The court also ordered the man to pay monthly maintenance of $527 to the wife and $422 and $633 to the couple’s two daughters, aged 20 and 14, respectively.

Spain Man Pays Ex-wife For Unpaid Domestic Labour

Moral said that the couple had divorced in 2020 and that her ex-husband had left her and their daughters with nothing. She added that she had no access to any financial affairs, that her husband registered everything under his name, and that she was only confined to family affairs.

Apparently, while getting married, Moral was asked to sign a "separation of goods agreement," which allows the husband to keep his wealth and split only the common possessions. Reportedly, the husband owns a gym and numerous luxury possessions valued at $6.4 million. Moral hopes that this case will inspire other women to claim for housework despite agreements like separation of goods.

According to the research findings of an Indian Institute of Management professor, women spend 7.2 hours per day on unpaid domestic work while men only spend 2.8 hours. With the gender disparity in families and distinguished gender roles in a patriarchal society like India, this is no big surprise. But how long are we going to normalise women toiling their entire lives with domestic chores?

Let’s do a small math. Assuming that families are hiring people to do all the work, a cook will charge Rs. 8,000–10,000 per month. A domestic worker would be paid Rs. 4,000–5,000. Caretakers for senior citizens charge Rs. 15,000–20,000, and daycares or babysitters for children charge about Rs. 15,000. Tuition charges would cost around Rs. 3000–4000 for primary classes and would rise to about Rs. 20,000 (all subjects) for higher secondary classes. So, given these approximate charges, families would have to spend an average of Rs. 65,000–70,000 per month to do the work that women have been honorarily doing for ages. And this is just a very minimal calculation. If women did all this work outside the home, wouldn't they earn this amount? So, isn’t it fair for women to be paid to do the household chores?

The Spanish court had ordered the man to pay 1,80,000, i.e., Rs. 1.75 crores, to his ex-wife, and the calculation almost matches the little calculation done above. 1.75 crore for 20 years of unpaid domestic labour is Rs 8,75,000 annually and Rs 72,916 per month. This was indeed a precisely calculated amount and a laudable verdict by the Spanish court.

The question of who would pay the homemakers would arise along with the decision to implement such an initiative. Obviously, the working members of the family cannot be asked to pay the homemakers, as that wouldn't add to the family income. So should the government pay them? Well, it isn't a completely alien concept given that Venezuela became the first country to pay homemakers in 2007. The government of Venezuela has been paying homemakers $180 (Rs.13,000) which has been greatly helping women. Whether it is the government's duty or the family's responsibility- who avails the services- to pay the woman is still debatable

Paying them would do justice to the enormous amount of work they do without a break or holiday. It'll help in making women financially independent and thus empower them as they no longer have to be dependent on anyone. Further, it will also help build respect towards domestic chores and give homemakers the much-needed respect and recognition they deserve. While the debate of whether homemakers need to be paid a salary is a long-standing one, let us acknowledge that the work they do is expensive!

Suggested Reading: Why Is Housework Considered The Essence of Being A Woman?