Vidya Balan says women with ‘flourishing careers’ still hand over cheques to their husbands: ‘Why does money have to be controlled by the man?’

Actor Vidya Balan said that women are afraid to take financial control of their own lives because they don't know what having that kind of power would feel like.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | September 14, 2023 04:23 PM IST

3 min read

Vidya Balan was last seen in Neeyat.

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Actor Vidya Balan spoke about the social and psychological constructs that prevent women from feeling empowered, and subsequently facilitating the rise of a more egalitarian society. In an interview, Vidya said that women still don’t feel confident enough to take control of their finances and often hand over their earnings to their husband in order to not threaten their power. She also praised her husband, film producer Siddharth Roy Kapur for being a secure person.

In an interview with lifestyle coach Luke Coutinho, Vidya said that growing up, women are told that they must look good physically in order to get ‘the best groom’. She continued, “There are so many working women, who have flourishing careers, who are earning really well, they’ll say, ‘I hand over the cheque to my husband’. Because money has to be controlled by the man. Why does money have to be controlled by the man? Because money is power, and you don’t want the man to feel threatened in any way.”

Also read | Vidya Balan says her hormonal issues may have begun after witnessing a ‘scarring’ interaction between uncle, father: ‘I was so angry’

Vidya Balan said that women are equal participants in upholding the status-quo, because they don’t know who they’ll be if they’re handed over all the power in a relationship suddenly. “I have friends who’re like, ‘We have joint accounts, I don’t know anything about money’. Arey, why don’t you know anything about money? You’re doing so well, you’re earning so well, why will you not know how much you have in the bank? Why will you not know how much you’re investing, where you’re investing? Why are financial calls not your calls? You don’t want to take that responsibility because you’ve been taught that the man controls everything and that’s how it should be.”

Similarly, Vidya said it’s ‘safe’ for women not to age and to have procedures done to their bodies and faces. “If you age, the man will go looking somewhere else,” she said, adding that women who do it for themselves can, but they shouldn’t undergo such procedures to placate others. “I feel so fortunate to be with someone who thinks the best of me every day,” she said, talking about her husband.

Vidya said that building confidence is a gradual process, and that she started on a journey of self-acceptance only after she started acting, when she was in her early 30s. The actor said that she still has good days and bad, but she’s in a far better place now than she ever was.

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