Translated into money, the household work performed by women in India amounts to $612.8 billion (nearly Rs29,000 crore) per year. Yet, officially nearly 367 million homemakers in India come in the bracket of non-workers, sharing space with beggars, prostitutes and prisoners, the Supreme Court has observed.
Slamming the general lack of sensitivity about and prejudice against homemakers in Indian laws, the court has sought a “proper rethink” on their status by Parliament taking into consideration the value of household work.
The “colonial mindset” in evaluating women has contributed to the high rate of poverty among them and their “consequential oppression in society”, it said.
Enhancing compensation for the death of a housewife, Renu Agarwal, in a road accident in Uttar Pradesh a decade ago, the court rued that the gender bias exists even in the Census operation, which is conducted under an act of Parliament.
Renu’s husband Arun, a government servant, had challenged the Allahabad high court’s order that had upheld the compensation of Rs2.5 lakh against his claim of Rs6 lakh in 2004.
Citing the Census of 2001, the apex court bench said it categorises those performing household duties like cooking, cleaning utensils, looking after children, fetching water and collecting firewood as non-workers and equates them with beggars, prostitutes and prisoners. Their work is not economically productive, the Census says.
The court referred to an authentic analysis — prepared by Evangelical Social Action Forum and Health Bridge — that says household work performed by women throughout India amounts to more than $612.8 billion per year.
The bench of justices GS Singhvi and AK Ganguly also called for amendment of provisions under the Motor Vehicles Act and other related laws when giving compensation in case of a woman and a homemaker. The bench said courts and tribunals should take into account the role played by women while assessing compensation.
Seeking amendment in section 163 of the Motor Vehicles Act which terms a housewife as one who earns one third of the income of her husband, the judges said the conclusion was without any basis.
