Date: 2016-11-21

Professor Irene Abiodun Durosaro has traced the cause of many of the social ills plaguing the world and especially the Nigerian nation to lack of good counsel.

The erudite Professor of the Department of Counsellor Education, University of Ilorin, maintained that in order to sustain male dominance, women have been subjected to a life of bondage that emphasises the superiority of men which, she said, is rooted in the ethos of females' sexuality, with the intent of passing properties to male children alone.

Durosaro while delivering the Institution's 164th Inaugural Lecture titled "Patriarchal Attitudes: Counselling as an effective intervention", nonetheless proffers that the issue of gender inequality in the world can also be eradicated through counseling.

She defined patriarchy as a system of social relations which describes the position of the father as the head of the household and relegates women to the background; And lamented that women, the world over, have suffered oppression and domination wherever the patriarchal system is practised despite their large population.

According to her, the practice of patriarchy in Nigeria is perpetuated by several factors that lower the status of women.

"Although, several efforts have been made to advance the rights of women in Nigeria, they continue to face discrimination and oppression from their male counterparts. In some parts of the world, women are able to free themselves from such abuse if they are of high status, wealthy or educated. However, in Nigeria, the subordination of women occurs in different dimensions to educated or uneducated, rich or poor and urban or rural women; there are no boundaries that protect the woman from such injustice." she said.

Religion, cultural norms and practices, gender-role socialisation and marriage institution, according to Durosaro, are some of the several factors through which the practice of patriarchy in Nigeria is perpetuated.

She rued the effects of patriarchal attitudes on human development, which she highlighted to include high level of illiteracy among women, political crisis, moral laxity, corruption, low self-esteem and poor career aspiration.

To redress the situation, the don has enjoined the federal, state and local governments to ensure the establishment of Guidance and Counselling Centres at all levels of education, adding that adequate attention should be given to gender-sensitive counseling in order to achieve positive attitudinal change and promote the development of men and women at an equal level.

Aside advocating that women should be given adequate consideration in terms of political and administrative appointments considering their numerical strength, she wanted the ministry of women affairs to be more proactive in assisting women to have equal rights with men. Besides, she advocated that the tiers of government should provide scholarships and educational grants to female children while skill acquisition centres should be established for those not intellectually inclined.

Durosaro called on nongovernmental organisations, all Universities in the country as well as Women in Nigeria to assist in breaking the barriers associated with patriarchal attitudes and promote the rights of women through awareness and sensitisation programmes to equip women with the skills needed to compete favourably with men.