New-daddy-moons need to be encouraged

Though there is a move in many countries to allow lawmakers to get paid time off as new parents, it is hard to imagine a front-bench Indian legislator — that too a son of a former prime minister — taking time off from Parliament to look after his newborn child.
But given Japan’s work culture also frowns on leave, it is heartening that former Japanese PM Junichiro Koizumi’s son Shinjiro has taken 15 days off from his job as environment minister after his wife gave birth to their first child on Thursday.

The declining birth rate in Japan is presumably why new parents can each take up to a year off by law, with or without pay depending on their employers; but only 6% of men there do so compared to 82% of women. Whether that can be blamed on male aversion to changing diapers or fear of falling behind in the workplace rat race in Japan, the significance of rising star Koizumi Jr’s short postbirth daddy-moon cannot be underestimated.

We Indians do not really give working men much leeway when it comes to time off either, much less paternity leave. Indeed, men in the private sector still have no such provision while those in government service can avail of only two weeks, which is hardly likely to make a difference to his spouse’s newborn childcare responsibilities. Time for a few Koizumis here to trigger change in attitudes and practices.