Court orders husband to pay wife for years of housework: report
Commenters pointed out how maids in the city could demand $50,000 per year
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A divorce court in Beijing ruled that housework "constitutes intangible property value," and ordered a man to pay his wife $7,700 for five years of unpaid labor, according to a report.
The BBC reported that the case has been the source of debate on social media sites within the country. The report said that one of the arguments was that the woman —identified only by her surname Wang — was not fairly compensated. Commenters pointed out how maids in the city could demand $50,000 per year for some of the tasks she performed. (The husband also has to pay $309 per month in alimony.)
The couple has been married for five years. They have a son. The Guardian reported that there is a new civil code in the country that allows a partner to seek compensation for housework and, say, caring for an elderly parent.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Everyone who has done housework knows that doing housework is no easier than going to work, it’s often harder," one Weibo user said, according to the Guardian.