Shot in the arm for women empowerment

The government in the recent sixth pay commission announced two major decisions aimed towards women empowerment in the goverment jobs- the first was the extension of the maternity leave from the present three months to sixth months and secondly two years "child care" leave which can be availed any time till the child attains the age of 18 yrs. It allows the flexibility to break the two yr leave into any number of periods. Both the maternity and child care leave are fully paid. So effectively, a woman after giving birth can take a break of two and half years and be on the pay roll as well enjoy no loss of seniority.
These steps have, as expected, attracted its share of criticism. People are arguing the necessity of the two year "child care" leave as the maternity leave has till now sufficed. It is feared that it is a cosmetic move aimed at attracting women into the hugely unattractive government services ( sample this - in the private sector the only leave is maternity leave and that too only for 90 days) and also it was a poll gimmick. It is also feared that it will be misused. There is also the grudge that it is fully paid without any loss of seniority. Lastly , it is felt that men also deserve "child care" leave if they are considered equal in the responsibility of looking after the child. Is the role of a father only limited towards financing the education and well being of the child?.A case in point is the group "Fathers 4 justice" who are fighting for equal rights with mothers in England (http://www.fathers-4-justice.org/f4j/).
The arguments have their legitimate amount of concern. However, I believe that in principle the decision is correct. The major responsibility in the early years of a child, especially in the highly gender concious Indian society, lies with the mother. Hence, she must not be faced with the quandary of choosing between her job and her child. This move aims at allowing her to do both and with due dedication and and attention. The time span of two years, though long in duration, is needed as by then the child can start attending pre school and be given in the care of a day baby sitter.
The fear of it being misused is also well placed. It is sure to happen, but then, any rule that is implemented, particularly in govt services, is exploited. Also the misuse is not gender specific, both being equal to the crime. So that should not stop the govt from implementing policies . In fact for a change, the govt has set a precedent for the private sector to follow. This welfare measure must, however, come with a rider, that if found illegitimate, will attract sever punishment in the form of loss of seniority and pay. It will act as a deterrence. Also, it must not allow two women colleagues in the same department to request for child care leave at the same time. There must be a system in place to ensure that the void is filled and work progresses smoothly. Imagine being told to come back after two years for moving your file in a sarkari daftar as the madam has gone to take her of her child. It sounds impossible, but in our system, such anomalies, with passage of time gain acceptance and eventually find salvage value in the form of sitcoms like " Office Office".
Lastly, how do you placate the male ego?. The issue here is a very sensitive one and involves gender and parental rights. Herein, comes the objection to the part that the leave can be broken up into parts till the child attains the age of 18. During the first years after birth, the child , admittedly, needs the mother "biologically". Thereafter the child is nurtured "emotionally" in equal measure by both the parents. A father can look after the needs of his child to prepare for his 12 th class examinations as much as the mother. The law looks at it differently..to the extent of even overlooking this obvious argument. The solution lies in amending the law to state that -
1) If both parents are working in the govt sector then they may as a single entity avail the "child care" leave. It would be at the discretion of the concerned couple to decide who and when will take leave.
or
2)If the leave must be availed by the mother only it must be done in continuation of the materniry leave, that is, the first two and half years of her child. This must also come with a certain loss of seniority and reduction in pay to ensure no loss is incurred to the organization and the replacement duly filled.

As I said, the decision is good in principle and intent but it will need many modifications before it can be implemented. Not surprisingly, it is still pending before the parliament. It remains to be seen when and how it gets implemented because another women empowerment bill- The Representation of Women Act is pending for the past three years.