HONG KONG – What is the value of household chores, such as washing dishes or vacuuming?
A groundbreaking ruling in China has sparked intense debate by setting the answer at about $ 4 a day.
In a divorce court in Beijing earlier this month, a judge ruled that a woman should receive 50,000 yuan (about $ 7,700) for “housework” following a divorce from her husband.
Chinese state media calls the woman Ms. Wang and said she married her husband, Mr. Chen, in 2015, before breaking up and divorcing five years later. The couple has a son.
In a first of its kind ruling, Wang was paid for domestic work under a new civil code, which went into effect in China in January. The code is a cornerstone of President Xi Jinping’s drive to reform the country’s legal system and aims to strengthen personal rights.
“When a spouse is entrusted with additional duties of raising children, caring for the elderly, or assisting the other spouse in his / her employment, that spouse has the right to claim compensation from the other party in the event of divorce”, according to article 1088 of the Civil Code.
Judge Feng Miao of the People’s Court of Beijing’s Fangshan District divided the couple’s joint physical property and relied on the civil code to rule on “intangible property” resulting from the marriage, including housework, she told state media Monday.
The judge added that the courts “need to gain experience” to determine the amount of compensation in such cases in the future.
The case has sparked a heated public debate on social media in China about gender rights and responsibilities.
While many welcome the legal recognition of household chores as progressive, others are critical of the amount awarded to Wang, noting the high cost of living in Beijing – arguing that the money is barely the salary of a housekeeper or nanny in the capital. would cover.
A hashtag on the case has so far received more than 570 million views on the Chinese social media platform Weibo and about 22,000 discussions.
“There is no clear standard for how much the compensation should be. However, the court made the calculation based on the marriage period, family income, community living standard and more,” Beijing-based divorce attorney Yi Yi told NBC News on Wednesday.
Yi, director of Jiali law firm in Beijing, said earlier that protection under the new civil code heralded “a springtime” for women who work at home, but said that despite the ruling, women still suffer from most household chores.
“This is a problem of the unequal gender structure that women should sacrifice more for the family. I think such a social concept needs to be changed … The family and the household are built by both husband and wife, not one party. , ”she added. .
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A 2018 study by China’s National Bureau of Statistics on Domestic Work and Gender in Beijing found that with the improvement of women’s education and employment opportunities, the degree of gender inequality in household hours had gradually decreased. However, among older generations, it found that there was still a great deal of inequality in the times of housework, such as cooking and shopping, between men and women.
The treatment of women in China has also come under closer scrutiny since the global #MeToo movement, with more women speaking out against sexual harassment and discrimination and the need for more robust rights.
For Xu Dongmei, 54, a stay-at-home mom from Zhejiang Province in eastern China, Wang’s case has made her think about her own home life.
Although she said it would be “ cruel ” not to receive compensation for a life devoted to the family, she told NBC News she didn’t feel any less because she had no income.
“I made a difficult decision for my son. I felt a sense of loss when I lost my self-employment income,” she said. But adding, “When I give love and guide my son and watch him grow up in a happy environment, I feel my worth.”
Reuters contributed to this report
Xin Chen contributed.