Is it possible for any enceinte woman who is about to give birth or who has freshly given birth, ween that her husband is not with her to take care of her and their child? The absence of a father makes it fatiguing for the woman to handle the imposed responsibility on her own. It is supposed to be an amalgamated process which generally does not happen in India. What is the reason behind this? The Government of India has enacted the Maternity Benefits Act, 1961, wherein women are entitled to certain benefits and ease whereas the same is not the case for the other gender as there is no legislation for paternity benefits.

This is the reason why many men are unable to tend to their wives’ and the newborn’s requirements during the postpartum and the postnatal period. Biological / Adoptee Fathers in India are granted a paid leave of only 15 days which is literally half the month. Additionally, up to 3 more weeks of optional work is offered to them. Not all the companies, offices, other workplaces necessarily grant a so-called paid leave. Men have to either negotiate or compensate for those absent days if the company does not possess any such favorable policy for the same. Before hopping onto the subject matter, let us first understand what the following 2 terms actually mean; Under ‘India Parental Leave (Maternity and Paternity) Policy: –

• Maternal Leave means time-off from a job granted to a mother to take care of a new-born child. Therefore, the company grants her maternity leave.
• Paternal Leave means a period of absence from work granted to a father after or shortly before the birth of his child to look after his wife and the new-born.

The Importance of Paternity Leave

The man and the woman together get involved in intimacy and procreation and thus it can be claimed that the responsibility of caregiving is not only of the mothers. The crux of the matter is that any sort of denial of fundamental rights based on indiscrimination violates the superior right of the Indian Constitution which is Articles 14, 15, 16, and 17 providing for Gender Inequality. 

As an assumption, a child may not only want his/her mother but also start demanding for his/her father which may be during any time of the day. Or, what if the mother of the child is not in a robust condition and requires something? What should be the key solution to it if the father daily is at his workplace or is engaged with work?

The availability of inadequate paternity leave would not allow the father to bond with his child as well as the mother but would also promote the possibility that the child grows up sharing a strong relationship with just one parent.

In the current scenario, depriving men of their rights does not seem to be violative as of yet in the eyes of law even after ‘Paternity Leave’ being acknowledged as an important tool of Gender Equality. It is high time for society to witness new fathers that lead by example to change the myopic view of primary caregiving.

Why’s there a delay?

More than anything, it is the mind-set of Indians that abides since forever that taking care of a child is primarily the mother’s responsibility and does not let men stay at home for a long span of time to make them go to work to earn. Secondly, many men do not feel comfortable availing paternity leave in the fear of losing their job role to someone else in that short period of absence time. Thirdly, the financial crisis in the economy, which is the biggest concern of the government, lands on the question- HOW WILL THE ECONOMY GROW IN THE ABSENCE OF MEN FOR DAYS? According to a new study, male labor-force participation in India is 76.01%, which means granting men a long leave may disrupt the balance in the market according to the authorities. 

A decent paternity leave policy may not entirely offset the imbalance, but in fact, it could act as a precursor to the burning problem of gender role distinction.

Legal Backdrop – Paternity Leave Policy in India

India does not provide any such specific provisions for paternity leave for private-sector workers yet. Men have to either compromise their leave or abide by the strict terms and conditions imposed on them, that directly hammer their salary. After the introduction of the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017, the demand for Paternity Leave saw a huge uproar. Rajeev Satav in September 2017, proposed a Paternity Benefit Bill in Lok Sabha, to protect the paternity rights of working men and treating them equally. The restricted number of liberties that are granted to men for their paternity leave under the proposed bill and the paternity leave policy adopted by various proposals and private sector companies are as follows:

• The Proposition of Paternity Benefit Bill, 2017
  This bill had been proposed by Shri Rajeev Satav, an MP from Maharashtra. What does this bill state? 
  • All workers including those in the unorganized and private sector should get paternity leave of 15 days that can be extended up to 3 months maximum. 
  • Equal parental benefits are provided to both the mother and the father.

• Government Sector Employees
  The Central Government of India, in 1999, under Central Civil Services Rule, made provisions as below: 
  • Leave for 15 days.
  • He can avail of this leave before or within 6 months from the date of delivery of the child.
  • Leave will be considered as lapsed if it is not availed within the period.
  • He shall be paid leave salary equal to what he was being paid before proceeding on leave.

• Private Sector Employees
  Paternity leave is open to interpretation by individual companies, where few multinational companies that are exemplars of the scheme are: 
  • Starbucks: 12 weeks of Paternity Leave
  • Microsoft: 12 weeks of Paternity Leave
  • Facebook: 17 weeks of Paternity Leave
  • Zomato and Novartis are the only 2 companies in India that offer 26-week-long paternity leave.

• Paternity Benefit Bill, 2017
  Major aspects of the bill are-
  • Applicability
  • Payment
  • Working Duration
  • Duration of Leave
  • Advance payment of salary
  • No dismissal
  • Miscarriage
  • Adoption, etc.

Conclusion

In my opinion, Paternity Leave should be mandated all over the world for all the dads to look after the family they leave at home. Not all families stay in a single same residential place. Many fathers of different families are scattered even worldwide due to work which makes it even worse for the mother and the child/children since they do not get to meet him regularly due to the denial of paternity leave by the companies or that workplace. This makes it too hectic for the mother to handle the child as well as the household chores all alone.

It’s high time for the legislative authority of India to take stern actions by implementing austere and precise laws and consequences that would favor the fathers.