Women and Domestic Labour

538 Words2 Pages

Domestic labour consists of labour for physical as well as emotional maintenance, childbirth, cleaning, cooking etc. This labour in turn results in the reproduction of labour power. Women, in almost all societies are responsible and obligated to do this labour. According to Marxist framework, domestic labour which is aimed at labour power can also be seen as a source of surplus value. So according to this conceptual framework, family under capitalism is a site of social production. In contemporary Indian these activities performed in the domestic sphere as well as the informal sector because of their distance from the realm of exchange and market, are not recognised and remain undervalued. Caste hierarchies also play an imperative role in devaluation of labours. Domestic labour forms a part of labours which are the most forlorn and exploited, done by the most marginalised women of society, despite being socially necessary. Domestic labour is incorporated in the realm of obligation within the household- domestic ideologies playing the major role in allocating different roles to men an...

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