How much is housewife worth?Some say intangible - valueless!
Some other say it's a gift from God!
Still some others said we can't put a price for it as its just not a commercial transaction.
But some housewives believed they are worth about $130 a day; that is, $3900 a month, and $46,800 per annum.
Miss Png Siok Choo who had 8 children and 15 grandchildren said "child-minding is a task which requires your full attention and has to be valued as such."
Zainah Abdullah who had 5 children spends 4 hours looking after the children and another 3 hours on her labour of love and wanted to be paid $40 and $45 respectively - that's $85 per day.
Png and Presanna Pillai said they should be paid $15 for preparing each meal which takes an hour. Cleaning dishes, Png said she wants $10, Presanna wants $19 and Zainah wanted $7.
As for house cleaning they wanted to be paid $25. Washing clothes is $6 for Png, $12 for Presanna and $13 for Zainah.
Ironing of clothes, Png gives it free, Pressana wants $15 and Zainah wanted $8 but wanted an additional $9 for folding clothes.
Buying groceries, Png believed it is worth $10, Presanna thinks its $15 and Zainah is $12.
As for gardening, Png wanted to be paid $12 and driving children to school, she wanted $6.
Wow! unbelievable! I was just wondering... if my wife would sent me a bill for such job, how would I evaluate the prices and job quality. Would I have to prepare a job order or a contractual agreement together with the terms and conditions of contract plus the necessary specifications and standards. What about Quality Control and Quality Assurance? Do I need to insist on the submission and approval of samples and tests to assess the quality of products and services and to verify customer satisfaction?
What about sex? Do I have to pay for it? If it is, what happens if she wanted it or she enjoyed it more than me? Will I then have to sent her a debit note and backcharge her? What happen if I paid her $50 each time for sex? What would happen if my neighbour will offer her $100? Since this is a contract, will she be at liberty to contract with another who gives a better offer? At the same time, can I also refuse to have sex in order to cut down cost (we call it cost control)?
It is paradoxical and insidious! In business analytical evaluation, It is more economical to employ a Filipina and pay her $600 a month. Equally paradoxical is the fact that the children belongs to both (as both wanted them) and taking care of them is a moral responsibility for both and I do not understand how these "experts" could append a price to the said works. Based on the expert's calculation, wouldn't it be wiser for the housewife to get a paid vocation and leave the houseworks to the servant which would cost only $600? Since the "experts" did not include sex as part of the cost tabulation, then the thesis is made easier. Otherwise we would have the headache to price sex and the contributions and benefits of both parties to the contract.
In reality and in line with natural law, is this mathematical and pecuniary way of pricing a housewife pragmatic and applicable? If everyone or most housewives would follow the path of the "3-experts" above, what will happen to our society and family? Will men then apply contractual doctrines to effect the agreements and would the government need to set up a separate court to handle this massive and complex cases? BTW, our courts are already tainted with so much backlogs and scandals, and with the executive-judiciary affiliations observed, there is a cause for us to ponder about what sort of justice and fairness would prevail.
Do housewives really felt and think the same way as Miss Png, Presanna and Zainah? Is the method of valuing these contributions in monetary value the "Right Answer"? I darned think of it ... the world , oh, maybe, this Malaysia and its people, are looking for Armageddon to arrive soonest possible.
12 comments:
Hahaha... I like the sex part!
Next, husbands can tell their employer that if they pay lower than RM3900, they cannot even make enough to pay their wife lah!
Society definitely needs to give more value and appreciation to the contributions made by homemakers.
But I wouldn't want to square it down to ringgits and cents too much.
Giving love and care to your children , spending time with them, watching them grow up is a priceless experience.
HAHA.. now you open up my eyes and now I know where to sent all those cooking, washing baju, mopping the floor, child bearing bills to liao...
Die liao..all husbands in the world....and that includes you..hohoho
Like that call for open tender lor. Use 2 years contract. Always have best service at the lowest price! :D
I tend to agree with kittykat. Quantifying the "value" of services by housewives is a symptom that societies (all over the world) particularly in Bodohland is deteriorating into a crocodile farm worthy of its skin. In the old days, these services were labor of love and positive values. NOW, it is becoming a value of the ringgit. If these women want ringgit, go and work as housemaids. After saying all these, the husbands should also show their appreciation (not just ringgit) for the sacrifices of their wives. Married life has to depend on bread and butter issues, but wives deliberately sending a bill for home services to husbands. If mine do, I am ready for divorce.
Monkey
Now you can differentiate 3rd world mentality vs 1st world, in woman world as well.
Even woman feminism does point out some unfairness towards the male :
- most father rarely spend valuable time with their children as compare to mother
- the work pressure show that male average life expectancy 5 years shorter than female
And don't forget, the government are set to discriminate housewife. For example, in the income tax column, the so call "join account" declaration for husband and wife are much lower compare to individually declaration.
The whole wages session just show another round of media works to portray Malaysian as shallow-Joe when come to individual rights.
Hmm, some husband never pay their wife. Never take care of the family at all.
WHy not just make a certain sum mandatory contribution to the family?
Since it's against the law to charge for sex, then let's make sex a bonus.lol
If some men or husbands don't pay their wives, that's the PRICE the women pay for it. Why ALLOW the government laws to trepass and transgress into your bedrooms! Don't we have enough of our govenment's stupid laws? If some women complain that they don't have enough sex, should the government pass laws to set a minimum times per week for men to obey? Nothing on chauvinism, but the fact that some women makes so much noise that they allow unnecessary laws to be made. Like equality. Who says women are made equal to men or vice versa? They are to compliment each other and not to compete each other. There is no such thing as a weaker sex.
SHIM
Hello dear All,
First and foremost, I must thanks those anonymous who at least sign-off with a moniker. Thanks especially to: Monkey and SHIM. At least, I can now convey my thanks to a "Named" person.
Purple~Mushroom, why did you say you like the "sex part"? You make me ponder over my essay and make me blur-blur.
Msiaman, I totally agree with you, but that may increase the rate of unemployment.
KittyKat46,
You surely are a wiseman. Even Monkey agreed with you. (I meant my esteem commenter).
X'tina,
You, betul betul jahat. I will ask your man to punish u.
Hasilox,
Good idea! Open tender? No, negotiated tender better - Design, built, Turnkey... with an Extension of Time Clause.
Monkey,
Thanks again for signing with a moniker. But please forgive me as I have to address you accordingly. KittyKat must be glad to have someone to approve his wise words.
Moo_t,
I agree with you. Carole Pateman's The Sexual Contract argued that secual subordination of women in marriage is both required by, and in an effect of, the Social Contract.
The problem of inequality of the sexes always stands in complex relation to the problem of survival. We must embrace a version of equality that focuses on the real issues - domination, disadvantage and disempowerment - instead of on the interminable and diseased issues of differences between the sexes.
It makes no sense to say that equality is guaranteed only when the sexes are already equal. The issue is not freedom to be treated without regard to sex; the issue is freedom from systematic subordination because of sex.
Women's lives are always distinctive in their potential for material connection.
One school of thoughts on Feminism is that, women is above all else invasive and intructive, for, women's potential for material connection invites invasion into the physical integrity of their bodies, and intrusion into the existential integrity of their lives.
To women who wants equality, the paradoxical aspect is that, at the same time, they want to be different from men, that is, having special benefit rule and special protection rule, which we term as "Double Standard Philosophy". It is truly a situation in which extra things women have, has become, "more is less."
In the words of Catherine A. Mackinnon, "...virtually every quality that distinguish men from women is already affirmatively compensated in this society." So, what else more?
It must be remembered that, the whole point of women's social relegation to inferiority as a gender is that for the most part these things aren't done by men.
Finally, it is a fact that sexual equality is an equivalence, not a distinction, and sex is a distinction. The mandate of equal treatment becomes a matter of treating likes alike and unlikes unlike; and the sexes are defined as such by their mutual unlikeness.
Put it in another way, gender is socially constructed as difference epistemologically.
In reality, men may have advantages in the gender aspect, but only before they go to the court and pay alimony. Similarly, by the rule of God, women bears children where men need not have to labor the pain and stress of pregnancy and child labor.
There is really no single, unitary definition of women's equality and there is no answer to what a housewife is worth. It is a matter for both of them to decide, either, before they get married, or after they are married.
Helen,
Many husband never pay the wife... I agree. Two reasons: 1) The wife is rich and the husband is a pauper. (2) The husband is an irresponsible person whom the wife failed to take notice before she married him.
The second part you wrote, I sure like it - bonus!!!!
SHIM,'
You are also a wise man. I love what you wrote - we got an idiot government who wants to control the bedroom.
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