Women Must Dismantle Systemic Barriers To Unleash Potentials – Fadubga Says

BY SEGUN ADEBAYO – A guidance and Counselling expert, Mrs Olufunke Fadugbe, has tasked women dismantle systemic barriers against women, stressing that to unleash their potentials, they must be mentally strong.

Mrs Fadugba, who is also a proprietress of a thriving school in Lagos State, said that being mentally strong is not about being popular, earning fat salaries or incomes, but having character with self confidence, productive, caring, a go- getter, a fear-tackler and true to one’s self.

She specifically counselled women to free themselves from restriction that include; self-imposed, family restriction, social prejudice, and environmental restrictions.

Fadugba, a former Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Lagos State Council, who stated these in a paper she presented at the 6th Annual Badagry Women Symposium on Friday, December 19, 2024, also said that Government and stakeholders must be deliberate in helping to bring down some of the borders women have to deal with through inclusion and diversity initiatives.

In the words of Fadugba; “We must be our “own woman” that is to unleash our potential. We must free ourselves from restriction (either self-imposed, family restriction, social prejudice, and environmental restriction.

“Free from control or dictatorial influence–your friends could be imposing dictatorial influence to tie you down. Leave the class or group of gossipy, blackmailing, pull her down, and conniving women into the team of refined, polite, hardworking women who are the cynosure of society for others to emulate you,” she said.

Fadugba noted that success without a successor is failure, adding that women need to sustain the trend, by making deliberate and intentional efforts to assist the next generation of women in recognizing the need to break barriers, unleash potential and transform lives.

The Counsellor said that this can be achieved in alliance with the menfolk, by getting the policy makers committed to building the needed structures to enable the women to get education and empowerment, enjoy equal opportunities in all fields and have access to enduring mentorship and support to overcome gender-based biases and stereotypes that limit women’s potential.

Fadugba said that women have inbuilt and acquired potential that can positively impact society which ranged from the potential to do business in the economy, ability to impact and excel in human resource capabilities, as well as organisational competence.

According to her; “In essence, women have the potential to multi task and excel in all endeavours they are extremely fond of or devoted to.

“I must, before moving forward, say that women in a geographical border area like Badagry need strong support such as this type of periodic sensitisation backed with necessary tools, including finance.

“I recognize the fact that the bulk of us at this gathering have paid the price to be counted among the achievers that have been able to make impacts in our chosen fields and various spaces of our endeavours, it is therefore not wrong to say congratulations as we aim for greater achievements.

“We must also ensure safe, inclusive spaces that allow women to thrive and feel valued and promote women’s entrepreneurship and financial independence through grants and loans, while also encouraging the development of women’s leadership skills to increase their representation in decision-making positions.

“As a woman, look for what is needed in your community that you can be providing to earn a living. Don’t be too choosy beyond your capacity. Make yourself relevant and useful to yourself,” she enthused.

Fadugba also stressed the need to attach more importance to women’s caregiving responsibilities, saying that a lot of people tend to underestimate the economic value of unpaid care work, which typically include activities such as childcare, eldercare, household chores, and other forms of domestic labor.

She noted that it is often assumed that because it does not attract payment, unpaid care doesn’t contribute to the economy, stressing that if the same services were to be outsourced or paid for, it would represent a significant portion of GDP in many countries.

She concluded by saying that those burdened with these kinds of responsibilities also deserved to be recognized and supported adequately.

Let me acknowledge the vision of the people who were pregnant with this idea, who gave birth to it and nurtured it along with others up until today. This is what we call an enduring legacy.

I will attempt to break down this theme and thereafter speak on our potential and how to unleash our intrinsic and other potentials to transform not only our lives but the lives of others.

Who is a woman: A woman is a special specie, I mean a purpose-built creature.

A woman is extremely fond of or devoted to something specific.

A woman grows up to be confident except those who have been abused one way or the other.

A real woman holds fast to her beliefs and values, no matter the situation.

It should be stated that integrity is the backbone of a real woman who is not swayed by peer pressure or outside influence.

Let us look at the border. In this context, I will look at the border as an allegory.  It has both literal and deeper meanings.

Border could mean deep-seated societal barriers. It can be a self-imposed barrier or limitation. Border can manifest in the form of cultural limitation, lack of mentorship opportunities, and lack of educational and skilled training.

There is also the limiting influences of drugs on the achievement and orientation of women

Another border- like barrier is the insidious impact of social media imitation that could limit the possibility of unleashing our potential.

We have unequal access to inputs or opportunities to advance besides societal stereotypes and workplaces or environmental borders.

A critical border is the higher allocation of time to unpaid work such as child-rearing and household tasks by women. If only this could be quantified and incentivized.

*Potential* :

This gathering is meant to awaken our sleeping or dormant ability to break down the identified borders, which had continued to inhibit us from maximising our abilities and impacting on lives.