Feminist activists demand an economic value to housework

In a report published last Saturday, Al Akhbar daily noted that describing the first of May Labor Day as a holiday associated with male workers and providers has many reasons. One notable factor is historically related to the definition of ‘labor’ by capitalist systems which do not count domestic work as real work or job. On the subject, the newspaper interviewed feminist researcher and activist, Bernadette Daou, who stressed that Labor Day is an annual occasion celebrated by various leftists movements. She pointed out that “while most of the communist parties look at labor from a mainstream point of view which is based on the ‘work for pay’ notion, there are jobs that remain unrewarded, such as housekeeping.” Underlining the need to give it an  economic value, Daou said that recognizing housework not only does justice to women as a social class, but also to a large category of migrant and refugee domestic workers who live under harsh conditions closer to slavery. This, she explained, is because of the lack of recognition of domestic work as an occupation that calls for equal guarantees and rights for its workers. Daou maintained that not recognizing housework worsens the exploitation of women, for they have to work inside and outside their house. However, she added, labeling domestic work as an inferior occupation immediately stops when it is acknowledged as a job that has economic value. Similarly, professor of sociology and feminism, Rima Majed, considered that celebrating Labor Day as a holiday for “the male breadwinner” is mostly attributed to the dominant male patriarchal mentality.” (Al Akhbar, April 30, 2016)