India reckons with a woman鈥檚 鈥榳orth鈥�
A legal ruling recognizes the monetary as well as civic value of women's role as homemakers. But unleashing their full potential will require India鈥檚 men and聽women to shed limiting views of each other.
A legal ruling recognizes the monetary as well as civic value of women's role as homemakers. But unleashing their full potential will require India鈥檚 men and聽women to shed limiting views of each other.
In a society where a woman鈥檚 status is still largely viewed as subordinate to that of a man, a recent ruling by India鈥檚 Supreme Court spotlights the significant, and largely unacknowledged, contributions of women to both individual households and the national economy.
In dry legalese, the June 11 verdict establishes a monetary value for 鈥渓oss of domestic care鈥� in a compensation case for a 2001 vehicle crash that claimed the life of a young wife and mother of three. The court granted the woman鈥檚 family a sum of 6.3 million rupees (about $66,000) 鈥� more than 25 times the initial award offered in 2003. And the judges also set a minimum estimate for domestic 鈥渉omemaker鈥� duties at 30,000 rupees ($317) per month 鈥� which is about 10 times the amount previously used.
Arriving at the current award and the benchmark for future compensation is about much more than numbers, however. The legal process points to a slow shift in views of the innate value and potential of India鈥檚 girls and women, in both family and civic life.
The justices used their ruling to counter prevalent perceptions of women 鈥� especially wives who are not employed outside the home 鈥� as economically unproductive or dependent. Homemakers are 鈥溾�榥ation builders鈥� and they ought to be recognised as such,鈥� they wrote. At the same time, they acknowledged that an individual鈥檚 worth cannot be reduced only to monetary terms: The homemaker鈥檚 contributions are 鈥渘either entirely鈥� economic nor non-economic.
鈥淚t is ironic to describe a homemaker as dependent when, in reality, the household鈥檚 functioning depends substantially on the homemaker,鈥� read another excerpt. By serving as household manager and 鈥渇irst teacher鈥� for children, the homemaker makes it possible for a spouse to focus on paid employment outside the home.聽
Home to the world鈥檚 largest population and democracy, India aims to become a global economic powerhouse. But, while 77.6% of Indian men participate in the formal labor force, barely 33% of women do so. Successive administrations have sought to raise women鈥檚 status and expand their options, through widening educational, economic, and political opportunities. A 2023 constitutional amendment set aside 33% of state and national legislative seats for women, once the current census count is completed.
But even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi pushes for 鈥渨omen-led development,鈥� traditional attitudes run deep. On the one hand, a Pew Research Center poll a few years ago found that 80% of Indians believed it 鈥渧ery important for women to have the same rights as men.鈥� Yet, the same percentage felt that men should receive hiring preference when jobs are limited, and more than 60% agreed that wives should 鈥渙bey鈥� their husbands.
Legislation and legal verdicts, it appears, are important 鈥� but insufficient for real change.
鈥淭he Supreme Court has set the ball rolling, by recognising a woman鈥檚 worth,鈥� wrote Indian rights advocate Shobha Shukla in the Eurasia Review last week. But, she noted, it鈥檚 only when limited perceptions are questioned that 鈥渃hange begins.鈥�
As India鈥檚 citizens continue to shift views of themselves and society, not just women but the entire country stands to benefit.