ABSTRACT
It is noteworthy that the early battles waged by the working class in Europe were for family wage so that women did not have to work under compulsion. The job of women’s rights activists should be limited to ensuring that every woman who wishes to take up a paid job or profession outside the house is not prevented from doing so due to lack of opportunities or discriminatory social practices. But it is presumptuous to insist that every woman must work for a wage and those who do not are socially “unproductive” and culturally “backward”. Feminism should be about respecting women’s choices not imposing a pre-set, ideologically determined road map for all. To conclude, a one-size fits all approach advocated by development experts does not take into account the diverse needs and aspirations of women.
