Recently read this news that Women and Child development
ministry has come up with a proposal for making it compulsory for a husband to
give half his share of income to his wife. This news brings a smile on your
face, isn’t it? Now the women will have better freedom, free from hassles of
husbands, maybe improved savings (eh?), no more dependencies on husbands for
buying ‘your things’. Has the smile widened??? No!!! More kitty parties,
incessant shopping sprees, more friends to join in the leisure-time activities,
more to do in their occupied lifestyle etc. The smile must have reached at the
max at both ends. If yes; then wait! Have you ever given a chance for this thought to reach your brain? Or you just crushed the part of the thought that was reaching for the brain under your larynx. Give it a little thought and you will realize that it’s a sort of reservation again, the same ominous thing that a simple, innocent and non-special general categorized Indian has always dreaded. The previous reservation scheme (General, OBC, SC and ST) still had some logic, but this proposal is like annexing our wallets for a reason that is beyond explanation. I am not saying this because I may be a future victim of this practice, but just because of a simple reason…… it’s ABSURD. Women Empowerment can’t be achieved at the cost of rendering men penniless.
It doesn’t just feel right to be deprived of the hard-earned money on the 1st day of the month. If you do not understand my concern, just imagine yourself in the shoes of the man parting with his half share of income. Applying it to the families where the husband drinks or assaults her wife is 100% justified but thrusting it to every household is largely superfluous.
Besides, there are other factors to look upon; what about the house-husbands? Do they get a share too?
And what about the families that have both partners working; are they too in consideration?
I don't understand what is actually happening under the banner of gender equality. I doesn't feel right; I mean fighting for what is right is one thing but fighting for the right thing that compromises someone's way of life is wrong and needs to be checked upon. The sweet days when men used to work and wives stayed at home and wait for their spouse to return home have already long gone. They started working, we backed them; they needed shares in property. we complied with them; but now this! I strongly disagree. This step is the result of limited point of views in the committee. The ministry needs to brainstorm about the pros and cons of this proposal before handing it out in public. This is a big proposal and may cause tension in otherwise stable Indian households and so demands a lot of discernment.
