“She is just a housewife”
This phrases is countless heard in society and in normal conversation. Buth the quation is she ‘just’ a housewife. Wife who do not work in formal offices, their solely work to take care of family and make a house a home. Wife works day and night for family members having no holidays and no hour limit of work performing all households functions like cooking, cleaning, take care of elders and children, ironing cloths, gardening and many more household works that they do throughout the day and they didn’t get paid a single penny for their work, upon asking by someone what she do everyone says” She is just a housewife”.
Supreme Court of India recently acknowledged the immense value of domestic work in a significant judgement concerning compensation under Motor Vehicle Act. Recently Supreme Court delivered a judgement on a case where a women died due to accident in Nov, 2021. Supreme Court on Thursday delivered its judgement on a case which has been lodges in 2001. SC held that homemakers/ Housewife should be paid 30,000 as monetary compensation to compensate for Motor Vehicle accident insurance claims. A bench of Supreme Court constituting of Justice Sanjay Karol and N K Singh increase the amount of compensation for a women case who died on 25 Nov, 2001 by accident from 8.4 lakh to 62.78 lakh.
Initially the case was filed before Motor Vehicle Claim Tribunal in 2001 by the husband of victim for compensation of death of women due to accident. In December 2023, Tribunal Accident Claims Tribunals provided compensation of 242000 to the aggrived party. Dissatisfied with the amount they moves to Punjab and Haryana High Court, which granted Rs. 8.34 lakh compensation with 7.5% of interest from the date of petition filed.
The heirs approached top court to avail benefit. SC talks about the effort of a wife toward her husband and future of their children. Despite physical and emotional effort of wife which remains in four wall, its scope is very large and eventually help other members to grow, homemakers are building blocks of nation. Justice Karol said that death of wife does not only affect husband and children, it impacts their parents who deprived of her love, lost her support and comfort. The loss are also felt by her in-laws who often depend on her work for medicine, timing food and care in old age even if it comes to company in morning over tea. Wife’s are building block of nation, although her efforts are not counts in national GDP. A survey revealed that women of age group 15-59 are majorly contribute to household works. Bench said everyday around 16 million individual is doing unpaid household works. Bench mentioned that Rs. 30,0000 as monthly payment is minimum if the woman is indulge in workforce then loss of domestic care shall be in addition to the salary of her work as proved before tribunal and court. Women’s role is far beyond biological reproduction. It is said that wife’s work are unpaid so she is dependent on earning member substantially household’s functioning is dependent on women. Efforts are made to give women a good status as they works hard throughout all day for her husband, children, in- laws and other things as well. It’s so hard to jiggle with different works like cooking, ironing cloth, cleaning, feeding the baby, making the lunch, send children to school, and other things. They do multi things at the same time and waking up before anyone do in home to prepare meals so that other can go to works and school. It is questioned that why women’s percentage of workforce is only 33%, it’s because of patriarchy where household works automatically transferred to women. Households things are basic learning every human out there should learn perform, it is not only the duty of women. Supreme Court talks about the issues of women how wife efforts are majorly ignored just on the basis that they didn’t contribute to workforce. The monetary compensation of 30,000 is minimum as each member is dependent on women for their basic works, they are the first teacher of children who taught them morals and ethics of life. Wife plays a major role in a family, without them a house cannot function properly.
The Supreme Court recognition of unpaid domestic workers is not only about proving monetary compensation, it’s about their values, dignity and continuously efforts of women which remains invisible. A wife is not just a housewife, she is a caregiver, gardener, nurse, cook and more things she manages alone. Recognition the value of unpaid domestic work is not charity, but it’s a right.