Last week, in a ruling on maternity leave for adoptive and surrogate mothers, the Supreme Court called on the Union government to examine the need for a formal law recognising paternity leave for all fathers, adoptive or biological. It noted that though parenthood is not a solitary function, fathers are often relegated to the periphery of their children’s lives, especially in infancy and early childhood, The Court termed this “a kind of injustice”.

Should men be given paternity leave? Here, we discuss the question.

Guests: Professor Ashwini Deshpande, who heads the Economics Department at Ashoka University, specialising in development economics, including gender and labour issuesSanjoy Ghose, a senior advocate at the Supreme Court of India with extensive experience in labour law. 

Host: Priscilla Jebaraj

Edited by Jude Weston

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