Should housewives be paid for their work?

“My mother is a housewife.”

“Oh! She doesn’t work then.”

Each time someone with a mother who is a housewife hears this, they are reminded of the infinite tasks their mother accomplishes each day. Some of which, perhaps, are huge enablers to all family members’ work. Yet, somehow, the simple tag of a ‘housewife’ removes her work to nothingness.

The simple answer to the question of discussion can be reached on replacing the said housewife with any other member of the society. Would they be willing to do the same work for a sum total compensation of zero? Difficult to think of such a situation, isn’t it? After all, in a just and equal society, any work deserves appropriate compensation. It may be argued that paid living expenses act as such but this is not true for all cases. In fact, cases wherein the living costs outweigh the work done by the housewife are those where domestic help has been employed in lieu of what? Yes; monetary compensation.

The work of the housewife has been established that as something that comes as a free accompaniment with a wife. This is just another facet of the patriarchal society we live in where such work is associated as being ‘natural’ and ‘inherent duty’ of a woman. A survey in the United Kingdom valued the work of a housewife at 30,000 pounds annually. It isn’t difficult to calculate the value of housework by guesswork and compare them with the living costs of the housewife. The difference in those would automatically make anyone realize the need for compensation to housewives.

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