Yashma Gill was a guest on the Nadir Ali podcast, a clip of which has gone viral, where she passionately spoke out against the misogynist stereotype that women are gold-diggers.
Ali said that in our society today, a man’s ugliness is considered his empty pocket:
“Regardless of whether he is good-looking or not, he looks awful without having money. He is told to go and earn money.”
Gill corrected this statement by pointing out that that many women in successful, happy marriages are earning more than their husbands so this stereotype that women are only in love with money isn’t true:
“I will not give any names, but around us there are a lot of examples where a woman is more successful than her husband, and they had love marriages…Regardless of these people belonging to my field or not..I don’t like the stigma attached to women that we are gold diggers.”
Ali brought up a sexist stereotype about women gaining financial independence and abandoning men:
“When a man earns, he hands over everything he has to the woman. Whereas when a woman begins earning she decides to abandon her man.”
Gill counteracted this statement by pointing out that financial independence only helps women become more confident within themselves, and doesn’t translate into not wanting a companion anymore.
“People are confusing this with when a woman becomes financially independent, she is no longer helpless,” stressed the ‘Pyaar Kay Sadqay’ actor. “She can stand up for herself. She can remind her parents that she is no longer a burden on them so doesn’t need to be married off. She can even provide for her children…So I think that independence for women and girls can give them strength and power, not the fact that they don’t need a man. Everyone needs companionship.”
Gill then gave the example of Hazrat Adam (S.A.W) and Hazrat Havva (S.A.W), to prove that every human being was meant to have a companion:
“Take the example of Hazrat Adam (S.A.W) and Hazrat Havva (S.A.W), this is a natural thing that evcryone needs companionship. But there must be compatibility, respect and a lot of other things.”
Listen to her complete interview here:
Gill shared the viral clip on her Instagram stories to address the misunderstanding that might rise in case audience is assuming that Ali was being sexist, to which the actor had written that the host was respectful and well mannered:
“So just to clear the air, the respectable host only meant to ask my opinion on what is a common misconception in society. Nowhere did he agree with it himself or said that it is something that he believes in. It was just one of the many things that he discussed with me – “discussed” not imposed, argued or debated. Therefore let’s not get him wrong and frame him in ways he doesn’t deserve because he was nothing but extremely kind and respectful towards me that I was honestly in awe of his nature. A true gentleman.”
