Abstract—The psycho-social impact of childlessness and the
patriachal nature of the African society on women has been
greatly undermined in literature. Factors influencing such
impact borders on gender roles and prefrence of male child
over female, so much so that the traditional African woman's
human rights has been greatly infringed upon. Efunsetan
Aniwura is an example of such African women who stood
against male chauvinism and gender inequity in her time. She
wielded economic power and owned a household full of slaves.
As her name depicts “Aniwura” meaning “owner of Gold”, was
a woman of wealth and spiritual depth in power and authority.
This study adopted a psychohistorical exploration of oral and
written records on the mental health impacts of patriachy and
male chauvinism on women's psychosocial well-being in Africa
with a focus on the traditional Yoruba Society in Nigeria.
Psycho-historical exploration of the African society and its
traditional role of silencing women in the past is rare. This
method will no doubt assist in the creation of enabling
environment for further research focusing on women’s
psychopathology in Africa. It is however not a justification of
the terrible acts of despotic leaders, but a mental health case
presentation.
Index Terms—Psychopathology, psycho-historical
exploration, Efunsetan Aniwura.
Oluwatoyin Olatundun Ilesanmi was with Redeemer’s University, RCCG
Camp, Mowe, Ogun State, Nigeria. She is now with the Obafemi Awolowo
University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria (e-mail: ilesanmio@oauife.edu.ng,
toy tundun@aol.com).
Cite: Oluwatoyin Olatundun Ilesanmi, "Efunsetan Aniwura: A Psycho-Historical Exploration of Women’s Psychopathology," International Journal of Information and Education Technology vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 147-150, 2014.