Being Opinionated Doesn't Depend On Social Or Financial Status

I am an opinionated woman and I am proud of it. However, my outspokenness is not taken very well by my relatives. Some appreciate me for being inquisitive while others call me an unrealistic bookworm who won’t be able to survive in the world outside if she holds on to her opinions. I am often told that I should have opinions, philosophies and policies in life only when I have a strong financial and social standing. If I can’t bring home the bacon, I cannot take stands or expect people to take me seriously. But why should the worth of my opinions be measured in terms of my social or financial standing? Shouldn't expressing one's views be a basic right for every person?

The conception that only powerful people can express opinions, resist and bring change affects our society in ways we can’t imagine. It invalidates the right of marginalised or underprivileged people to have a say in anything. It deprives them of the freedom to fight against wrong and demand justice. Many cases have been reported in which a person was harmed or killed off just because they tried to question the norm while being financially and socially weak.  “Chhota muh badi baat” is a very common phrase used to put people into place when they challenge an elderly or powerful person's opinion.

When we are talking about marginalised groups in society, we cannot ignore that the entire womanhood also falls under this section. Women are both a socially and financially weaker section of society. Their role in society and their share in the finances of a household or community are both subverted by patriarchy. So speaking up automatically becomes seditious for every woman, irrespective of class or caste. Aurat ho kar itna bolti ho? Aurat ko shaant rehna chahiye things like these are hurled at women who go against the norm.

Money is considered one of the biggest empowering tools of our times for women. It guarantees them the ability to say no and run away from abusive or unwanted situation. Sometimes these situations might be within the family and at times with an outsider. Feminism to me is an important pillar of the idea of financial independence.

Suggested Reading: Why Must A Single Woman’s Lifestyle Be Anybody’s Business?

Being opinionated is a luxury not everyone can afford

It is really disappointing how society curbs a person’s right to opine just because they are not powerful enough. If a person is not encouraged to nurture and express opinions from the beginning, then how will they do it when they are powerful? Opinions do not dawn upon us all of a sudden. They require a lot of learning, experience and contemplation. So if we don’t sow the seed of creating and expressing opinions early in life, then how will it sprout when it is time to make changes? If we do not encourage people to think and speak, wouldn’t we raise a generation controlled by money and machine?

SheTalks Money, Kolkata - A series on financial freedom of women

Also , what if the person never gains the power? In fact, what does power even mean? Isn't our opinion our biggest power, as it enables us to take a stand for what we think is right, demand equality and question the wrongful practices in our society?

A woman, if allowed to opine, will never settle for anything less than equality. She will demand answers, she will point out at stigmas and she will call out stereotypes. I think that is what scare those who benefit from the current structure of our society and thus they use financial and social standing as an excuse to belittle a person and eventually deem their &t=184s">opinion insignificant.

Women shouldn't back out when someone dismisses their opinion purely because of their gender or financial standing. Instead they should call out the bluff and take a harder stand. Being opinionated comes at a cost, yes, but holding out on our opinions due to intimidation will bear consequences not only for us but women who come after us as well.

Views expressed are the author's own.