Emancipate wife? Detrimental to give independence! (4,4)
I believe the answer is:
free will
'independence' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'emancipate wife? detrimental' is the wordplay.
'emancipate' becomes 'free' (I've seen this in another clue).
'wife?' becomes 'w' (abbreviation).
'detrimental' becomes 'ill' (I've seen this in another clue).
'free'+'w'+'ill'='FREE-WILL'
'to give' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for free will that I've seen before include "Freedom of choice" , "ability to make decisions" , "God-given right to determine one's own actions" , "Unrestricted choice" , "autonomy" .)