Independence of women is their strength and power: Yashma Gill on 'gold digger' stereotypes

During an interview with Nadir Ali, actor Yashma Gill spoke about the often misconstrued idea of women being stereotyped as gold diggers, while stressing the importance of financial independence for all women.

In a small clip of the interview, Nadir Ali states, "A man's ugliness is considered to be an empty pocket. If he's broke, no matter how great he may look, he comes across as bad. He must earn."

Here, Gill interjects, "I don't want to take names, but if you look around us for examples of people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, there are many examples where women are more successful than their husbands. But they are married, and they're love marriages."

"In this field?" questions Ali.

"I won't take names," reiterates Gill. "They can be in the field, I'm also talking about outside examples. I don't think this statement is right where we label women as gold diggers, I don't think so."

"Really?" asks Ali. "The heart wants what it wants," she says. "It's a famous saying that the man earns and gives to the woman,” continues Ali, “but if the woman earns, she says she doesn't need a man. It's a famous saying that women have this kind of mentality," states the host.

"I think this is being confused with when a woman is independent, she is no longer helpless,” answers the Alif star. “She can take a stand for herself. She can say at home that she is not a burden on her family, and she won't just marry anyone. Or, if she's in an abusive relationship, she can take a stand for herself there. She knows she can take care of herself."

"Okay, in this situation -" interjects Ali. "I think - I'm sorry I'm cutting you off," Gill continues, "I think the independence of girls and women is their strength and power. It's not that they don't need men. Everyone needs companionship."

"Exactly," agrees the host. "Take Hazrat Adam and Havva - it's a natural thing,” continues Gill. "Everyone needs companionship. However, there must be compatibility, respect, and a lot of other things," she adds.

Taking to her Instagram Story later to share a post by a local online outlet with a snippet of the interview, Yashma stated, "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."

Have something to add? Share it in the comments below.