Daddy's Home

As paid paternity leave becomes a hot-button issue, we invite a pair to join the debate

- Bobin James and Latha Sunadh

Politicians have a thing for saying funny things. Some fancy themselves as comedians but in most cases, it happens without them even realising that what they’re saying might be ludicrous. Case in point: Maneka Gandhi. The Women and Child Development Minister opened up the proverbial can of worms with her stance on paternity leave. In a recent interview with a newspaper, she was quoted as saying, “I will be happy to give it [paternity leave], but for a man, it will be just a holiday; he won’t do anything.”

Gandhi’s recent move to prod the Union Labour Ministry to amend the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, and increase maternity leave in the private sector from 12 to 26 weeks was taken with a big hurrah at the Grazia HQ. But when this cynical statement reached us, we thought we’d check in on the ones directly affected by this: A married couple with a baby.

BOBIN JAMES:

So, it seems the Honorable Minister of Women and Child Development recently said that Indian men, if given paternity leave, would just while it away on a beach in Goa, scarfing down some grilled fish and downing beers, or something to that effect [I mean, that’s what you do on vacation, right?].

Does it reinforce gender stereotypes? You bet it does. On one hand, here you are, wanting to introduce a progressive bill to benefit women. And on the other, you conveniently say: Guys will be guys.

That’s you telling the menfolk, “You know what, you are not going to be of much help anyway. In fact, you might be a bother. Why don’t you just stay out of the way?”

And that’s you telling the fathers, “I don’t care how hard it gets for you to balance work and new parenthood. Deal with it.” In one fell swoop, you are alienating a massive and integral part of the population that wants to participate.