In Africa, Marriage is termed to be a big achievement, especially for women. An unmarried woman is seen as a bad example to young girls. Being financially independent without a husband is counted as nothing. The normal African perspective is that it is the job of the man to provide for the entire needs of the family. In some families, it is even forbidden that wives should work and make money for themselves. As a result of this, most females grow up with the fantasy of marrying a very rich husband, without taking the need to be financially independent serious.
Financial independence is the ability to earn a living for oneself. Financial independence goes beyond making money like a lady but having a stand of your own and knowing how well to manage the resources you’ve made. We’ve seen cases of ladies earning a huge amount of money but squandering it on frivolous things.
A financially independent woman would be able to support her partner, with the present state of Nigeria’s economy, both couples involved in planning a family should be financially independent. A woman too should be able to contribute to the everyday expenses in the home as a man cannot be left to cater to all the needs of the family. In cases of emergencies, the financially independent wife can step in and save the situation. There are cases where a man loses his job, and the wife automatically steps in to save the family from shame and embarrassment, but in a situation where the wife isn’t working the family might go through serious hardship if the man loses his job.
Many women are suffering violence and abuse in their marriages and are helpless about it because they aren’t financially independent to cater to their needs and that of the children if they decide to leave the marriage. They can’t make any decisions on their own because they depend on their partners for everything.
Women like Okonjo Iweala, Ibukun Awosika, Mo abudu, Folorusho Alakija, Ugwu Arese, and several others are respected and honored not because they sit at home and only perform wifely duties but because they are financially independent and have established a name for themselves that both their children and spouses are proud of them. In modern-day Africa, most people respect and honor women who are financially independent. Respect is earned from the husband too, as most men would appreciate women who contribute to the daily needs of the home.
As we’ve earlier mentioned, it is not enough to have a job as a wife but being able to effectively manage your money makes you a financially independent wife. You must become “A smart money wife”!
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