Identification of female characteristics which need counselling services: a community based study in an upper Egyptian rural village

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to identify factors leading to female mental health problems and to oppression in order to provide counseling services. This is a community based study where 373 females from upper rural Egyptian village were subjected to a specially designed questionnaire to detect some factors related to oppression and were also subjected to the Zung test to assess female mental status. Some of these factors included individual and family factors such as gender role and marital conflict, in addition to macro-level factors such as economic burdens. 60.9% of the cases were oppressed due to battering, an act which was not justified by 65% of women. Severe physical consequences appeared in 11.5% of cases ranging from black eyes to abortion and disability. Gender discrimination acts together with female frustration and oppression prevailed. No single factor explains why female are oppressed as it is the result of the complex interplay of individual, relationship, social, cultural and environmental factors. The study concluded that understanding factors leading to female oppression is one of the important steps to provide counseling services and to empower female which enables her to select healthier choices in life