daniel chigunwe
Latwell Nyangu
Youth Interactive Writer
It is very true that major challenges still lie ahead for female students at college.
Females are faced with challenges on and off the campus.
Since girl students tend to show up in huge numbers at the institutions of learning, attention should be paid to problems that most of them face.
This time, I will be more gender-biased as I look into the dilemmas of a girl child at learning institutions.
A wide array of challenges face college campuses across the globe, making a woman’s world a tougher one to navigate.
Regardless of skin colour, religion, education, and whether you come from a developed or developing country, the unfortunate reality is that girls face more obstacles than boys at the colleges.
Apart from coursework and other day-to-day activities involved with being a student, it is not uncommon for girls to suffer various forms of discrimination.
Added to this, boys are physically stronger than girls. Boys are taught to find solutions to problems on their own.
Boys tend to be independent and fearless. On the other hand, girls are brought to be submissive, dependent, and fearful personalities.
Such problems are so embedded in the system that without serious attempts to remove them, little can be done to improve the situation of college students.
Most of the time, females do not make official reports regarding what happens to them, but in fact, many secretly experience some sort of exploitation.
This is so wrong, and if this won’t be stopped somehow, then women will continue to be victimized. There is need for universities to designate an office where every student could report their problems in confidence. Universities must adopt a strong stance against ill-treatment of female students.
College life is a very important phase for each person, and for girls, it is fraught withmore challenging.
Although the challenges range from socio-economic to policy and institutional-based, sexual harassment by male lecturers and cyber-bullying among others, rank among the most common challenges as female students encounter.
There is also the challenge of reporting and the greatest number of girls choose to be silent for reasons best known to themselves.
Household financial problems may force families to select which child to send to school, and in most cases it is the male child. And parents end up making boys more educated and sacrifice girls.
The problems girls face before going to college start at their homes.
Health issues are alsocommon as most of the girl students stay away from the home.
Fast food may not up to scratch and cause them to fall sick. Unhygienic sanitary conditions in their hostels are not speedily attended to by campus management.
Lack of water in the toilets is a problem as females require water, especially during their monthly periods. Traveling from college to home and vice versa is also an issue because some of can’t afford high transport costs and so have to travel by public transport. This opens them up to exploitation by sugar daddies.
Colleges should put in place measures to ensure girls reach their academic and professional goals.
Education is a right enshrined in the Constitution. College life a valuable experience for most of the students.
But girls have to face most hindrances on their education aljourney.
And also some of the female sgo through mental health issues and there is no one to share their problems with.
This can lead to depression because the girls can’t focus on their studies and other activities.
Many of them face financial hurdles and are unable to pay for their tuition, transport, food, accommodation, and other activities.
Students also feel pressure from family to produce high grades. Some parents don’t give importance to the education of their daughters because they want to marry them off at an early age, and as a result they fail to complete their studies.
Parents should support and motivate their daughters to fulfil their career goals. Female student have to go the extra mile than boys to make their dreams come true.
A girl should enjoy her college life and if something happens, she must discuss with her family and lecturers instead of suffering in silence.
A woman’s life is a challenge in itself, they have to go through a lot of hurdles at each and every stage of the life.
Girls even become the victims of eve-teasing, body shaming and sometimes even their dressing is always under scrutiny.
Even if they complain about it to their parents or school teachers, they are labelled social misfits.
They are denied the privilege of coming home late at night. These are some of the phases of college life which is the precious part of every student life.
We have all been through a lot of problems in our college days and I am still a student, and I won’t deny that girls face a lot of problems.
If a girl is educated, she can benefit the whole generation!
Peter Tanyanyiwa
Online Reporter