The Paternity Benefit Bill, 2017, had been introduced by Rajeev Satav, Member of Parliament, representing Maharashtra in Lok Sabha. The bill brings our attention to the issue of needing to see the world through a gender-neutral lens for making a more gender-just society. The bill needs to be appreciated for its spirit, since it has the potential to bring many positive changes in the society.
The bill states that “Childcare is the joint responsibility of both the mother and the father. The absence of paternity leave implies that childcare is the responsibility of only the mother”. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO) report, paid paternity leave is essential to assist women and share family responsibilities. It defines paternity leave as a “leave period reserved for fathers in relation to childbirth or leave that can be used exclusively by fathers”. It enhances the gender-neutral approach towards family care and would be considered as a gender-transformative practice. As per a UNICEF study, “almost two-thirds of the world’s children under 1-year-old – nearly 90 million – live in countries where their fathers are not entitled by law to a single day of paid paternity leave” and 92 countries do not have any national policies regarding it.
Gary Leonard Ackerman who was a teacher in New York, and later became a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives is the first person who petitioned for unpaid leave for his newborn daughter but was denied the same by the New York City Board of Education, as the leave was reserved for women only. He later won the case and created a legacy where numerous families got to benefit from it. Similarly, India needs to enact the legislation to create a more enduring legacy, where both the father and the mother would be considered equally responsible for childcare.
In fact, childbirth is one of the most crucial times when a father needs to shoulder immense responsibilities. If the bill takes the form of law, one expects many benefits from it. Some of them are mentioned below:
It Will Help Improve Father-Child Bond
Once enforced, it will definitely help create a positive atmosphere between a father and his child. An affectionate bond would be developed which will create harmony in the relationship. According to Dr. Lin Day, “Babies who have benefited from paternal interactions from an early age get on better with their peers”.
Fathers Can Provide Emotional and Physical Help
After childbirth, a mother can face difficulties in dealing with herself and in taking care of the baby. The husband’s presence around this time would boost her confidence thereby helping her cope with the emotional and physical trauma. Moreover, the husband’s help in the daily chores would relieve her of the psychological stress and would provide enough time to strengthen herself.
It Can Change Society’s Attitude
Indian society needs to bring a change in its attitude – the current stance being that only a mother is responsible for childcare. It needs to be understood that the father also holds equal responsibility for the child, and therefore paternity leave is a positive step in the right direction. The bill can create a positive domino effect in this regard.
It Can Help Challenge Dominant Patriarchal Discourse
The dominant patriarchal discourse talks of the father as the head of the family. The Paternity Bill challenges such narrow-minded ideas, which are widely prevalent in our society. Benefits attributing to the bill would eradicate these misconceptions. On a positive note, many countries like Germany, Finland, Norway, Republic of Korea, and Sweden already have suitable provisions for paid leave for fathers The smooth passage of the bill from both the houses seems a challenging task, yet I believe that it deserves to become an Act. We, as a society, should move forward in a positive direction by creating a gender-just society, where a man and a woman shoulder equal responsibilities.