Apni Salary Papa Ko De Do: Why Aren't Young Women Trusted With Money Management?

If you earn money of your own you should have the right to use it the way you want. Here the way of handling one’s money could be anything from giving it to parents to spending it on yourself, what matters is having a choice or agency over your finances. But, usually, young women lack this choice over their own money. They are ‘told’ what they should do with it by parents, or later, by their husbands.

When we tell a woman what she should do with her money, we are establishing the narrative that even though she can earn, she is incapable of handling her finances. But should it be this way? Why does society doubt women's skills, when it comes to money management? It is not as if men are born with this knowledge, which makes them better than women. No, men too learn to manage money from experience, so then why can't women do the same?

Women managing money: The policy of policing

Our society loves to gaslight women, forcing them to believe that they should let men take care of them. Also, women have to endure social scrutiny, no matter what they do. Listen to this for instance: If a woman knows what to do with her money she is dominant, if she doesn't she is a bimbo. If a woman uses her own money she is selfish, if she doesn’t then where is equality?  If she earns money then a question is put on her which goes like, “How do you manage home,” and if she is a homemaker, then all her unpaid labour is discredited as just "household duties" every woman must perform for her family.

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The sexist nature of salary

In many households, women’s salary is treated as "extra" money, which is usually put into savings or investment accounts. Households utilities are thus run by a man’s money, to sustain both their ego and the title of the breadwinner. Even though this sexist strategy of financial planning in Indian homes is not talked about enough, we cannot deny the fact that it doesn’t exist. When a young woman starts earning her father or husband tell her how and where she needs to invest it. Since it is seldom used for manage household expenses, it also prevents women from having an authority over decisions being made in their home.

The need to take control of your money

By taking charge of your money you are taking charge of your life. Financial independence isn't just about how much money you make. It's also about having the confidence to make your own financial decisions. You worked for the money that you are earning, so you should get to decide how to spend, save or invest it. Women need to hold themselves accountable for where their money goes and where it comes from. This will help boost their confidence, when it comes to money matters.

">Money, in itself, is not sexist in nature but our society made it so. Next time, when someone tells you what to do with your money, just tune them out and take matters in your own hand. 

Views expressed are the author’s own.

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