From the Cradle to the Grave: The Ugandan Muslim Woman

1
From the Cradle to the GraveThe Ugandan Muslim
Womans plight in seeking higher Education

• Fatihiya Migdad Saad fms7_at_le.ac.uk
• School of Education

The Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) is reported to
have said Seek knowledge from the Cradle to the
Grave

• Social
• Cultural factors
• Religion
• Cultural practices
• Bride price
• FGM (Female Genital Mutilation)
• Poverty
• Geographical environment
• Rural Urban Settings
• Gender Issues
• Health Issues HIV/AIDS

• Human
• Rights Issues
• UN Convention
• Millennium development goals
• Widening participation into Higher Education
• Womens action groups
• (Feminism/Emancipation)
• Affirmative action for Women

• Introduction
• According to the U.N. Study, "Traditional
  cultures and sexist stereotypes diffused by media
  and religious extremists often affect girls'
  access to education, drop out rates, professional
  or higher education opportunities." (Womens
  United Nations Report Network 2003).
• Equality of access to and attainment of
  educational qualifications is necessary if more
  women are to become agents of change. Various
  factors (see central diagram) seem to lower the
  academic performance and aspirations of girls
  even when they do remain in school.

Higher Education Girls Accessibility to Primary,
Secondary and Tertiary Institutions

• Girls in a Secondary School in Central Uganda
• Importance of the Study
• Very few studies have been done on African women
  in the field of Higher Education. Almost nothing
  on Muslim African Women.
• Education for girls is the single most effective
  way of alleviating poverty. Literacy of women is
  an important key to improving health, nutrition
  and education in the family and to empowering
  women to participate in decision-making in
  society.
• The world has an unprecedented opportunity to
  improve the lives of billions of people by
  adopting practical approaches to meeting the
  eight Millennium development goals. Human rights
  issues are interwoven in these goals and unless
  Education for all is promoted none of the eight
  goals can be achieved by the target date of 2015.
  (UN millennium development goals, 2005)

Under Representation Of the Ugandan Muslim
Woman in Higher Education

• Economic
• Factors
• Low SES
• (Social Economic Status)
• Low Employment levels
• Low Incomes
• Low Investments
• Dependence on Agriculture
• Lack of Skills and Technology

Primary School students in Western Uganda

• Government
• Policies
• Political factors
• Lack of women
• Representation in Government decision
• and policy making
• sectors
• Few Girls government aided Schools
• UPE (Universal Primary Education)
• USE (Universal Secondary Education)
• Tertiary Institutions enrolment policies
  (Government Universities 1.5 point system)
• Muslim Organization Activities

• Historical
• Factors
• Colonial factors
• Post Colonialism
• Missionaries
• Slave Trade
• Federal Kingdoms
• Civil War

• Objectives
• The study aims to investigate the level of under
  representation of the Ugandan Muslim woman in the
  field of higher education.
• The study serves to further illuminate the nature
  of the problem, the obstacles in place and the
  need for change to occur in line with the
  millennium development goals.
• Despite Ugandas affirmative action campaign,
  women still fare badly in accessing higher
  education and by using female voices, the
  research would like to explore the reasons why.

• Methods
• The Research would be a qualitative feminist
  paradigm using Makerere University, Uganda, as a
  case study.
• The main research tool would be face to face
  in-depth semi-structured interviews where womens
  voices would identify the barriers in place.

Traditional Maasai Women in Kenya
Girls receive text books in a Secondary School
in Tanzania
In comparison with three other countries, Uganda
has one of the lowest literacy levels among
Adult females
Muslim Women join a cookery class in Sudan