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Kwesiga, Joy C. (2002) Women's access to higher
education in Africa: Uganda's
experience. Kampala,
Uganda: Fountain Publishers.
Pp. 309
$34.95 (Paper) ISBN #9970-02-295-4
Reviewed by Stacy C. Miller
Ohio State University
June 6, 2003
For educators, students, and scholars interested in the
issues
of educational opportunity in developing nations, the
region of
sub-Saharan Africa presents a rich tapestry of gender,
historical, societal, and cultural contexts for
analysis. Though
each country is host to its own particular set of
circumstances
that affect educational access, taken as a group many
trends can
be observed. While it might be generally acknowledged that
women
and girls face greater roadblocks on their path to
educational
attainment in the developing world, it is useful to look
in-depth
at the multiple factors that contribute to this
phenomenon.
Further, gaining a nuanced perspective on the challenges
faced by
individual girls and their families is imperative to
actively
pursuing efforts to bring about reform. Joy C.
Kwesiga's
Women's Access to Higher Education in Africa:
Uganda's Experience illuminates the difficulties
involved in coming to fully comprehend the gendered state
of
schooling from the primary to tertiary levels in sub-
Saharan
Africa. As indicated in the book's title, she
focuses her
research on Uganda. Her presentation is clear, development
of
ideas is cogent, and her underlying message is
irrefutable.
First, Kwesiga's book successfully isolates and
explains
the plethora of factors affecting equal educational access
in
sub-Saharan Africa and Uganda. Then, she skillfully weaves
them
back together in such a way that the reader is left with a
multidimensional image of her topic's
complexities.
Joy C. Kwesiga is an admirable woman with extensive
experience
in education as a faculty member and the Dean of the
Faculty of
Social Sciences at the University of Makerere in
Uganda. Having
grown up in south-west Uganda, she experienced first-hand
the
challenges facing young girls and women as they pursued
education. She acknowledges her good fortune in
successfully
completing elementary school and being accepted into an
Anglican
secondary school as the only female from her district that
year.
In her introduction she states that her current life as an
African woman activist, set in an academic environment,
leads her
directly toward work aimed at ameliorating the
disadvantageous
situation of women. As an administrator, she has been
witness to
the differential treatment of men and women in the
university.
Additionally, her involvement in the regional and national
efforts to redress the unfavorable position of women has
convinced her of the need for the documentation and study
of
African women's experiences. Thus, these are the
circumstances that led her to the study and research
involved in
the publication of this book.
Kwesiga dedicates the first half of the book
to
helping the reader understand all the underlying issues
relevant
to the study of education in sub-Saharan Africa. After her
eloquent introduction, she begins with a careful and
organized
analysis of theories and concepts to be further discussed
in
subsequent chapters. In chapter two, she details human
capital
theory, making a formidable case for the investment in
education
as a means to successfully promote progress in developing
countries. Her definition of human capital incorporates
formal
education, on-the-job training, improved health, adult
education,
and the adaptability of the workforce. Included in her
analysis
of human capital is the demonstration of its linkage to
economic
and social rates of return for the individual and public
good of
developing nations. Also integrated in her chapter on
theories
and concepts, is a look at social theories of gender
inequality.
Here, the overview is thorough, yet concise. She describes
social structure theories and human nature theories, as she
progresses from Marxist to radical to post-modern
feminism. Her
synthesis of theories and concepts relevant to the book
includes
sex and gender, patriarchy, and educational
access. Finally,
this chapter concludes with a thoughtful dissection of
theories
of women, gender, and development and women-specific
development
theories.
Chapter three answers the seemingly
rhetorical
question, “why educate women?” Kwesiga answers
this
question with a definitive look at the multitude of ways
educated
women and girls contribute to the well-being of their
families,
communities, and countries. Again, she highlights ways in
which
women lend to the advancement of the economy. She makes
the case
for women forming at least 60% of the agricultural labor
force
and over 80% of the food crop producers in the
region. Second,
she points to contributions educated women make to the
health of
their families. Educated women serve as resources for the
promotion of the social, as well as the physical, health of
their
communities. Discrimination against girls and wide-spread
preference for boys has been widely documented in the
region.
Kwesiga points to specific examples of laws and practices
that
serve as impediments to the education of girls. She
demonstrates
ways in which restricted access hinders the cultural and
functional advancement of all in the society. Ultimately,
Kwesiga presents a preponderance of evidence that clearly
demonstrates the advantages to educating girls and
women. Given
all the evidence, it is ironic that the chapter closes with
a
query by the author. She wonders why there has been so
little
change, if the benefits are readily apparent.
Though her focus is primarily on educational opportunity
at
the tertiary level, Kwesiga addresses the multiplicity of
factors
that contribute to students' capability to access
education
at every level. Attention is given to the fact that
limitations
to access at primary and secondary levels impact access at
every
subsequent level. Kwesiga presents data of gender gaps in
gross
enrolment ratios for nearly twenty sub-Saharan African
countries
dating from 1980 to 1993. She cites family factors such as
parental attitudes, family labor, and socio-economic status
as
hindrances to girls' education at primary and
secondary
levels. Also, societal expectations placed on girls due to
patrilineal family structures, custom and culture, and the
concept of universal marriage impede the progress of girls
toward
higher education. Kwesiga discusses historical and
geographic
factors, politics, economics, school facilities, and
curriculum
as they impinge upon access for girls. As impeding factors
pile
up, their multilayered nature adds complexity to a
girl's
attempts to access education at subsequent levels.
With Uganda as the specific setting for her study, the
book
switches gears in chapter five from talking about sub-
Saharan
Africa in a general context. Though most of the
information
presented thus far can be applied to Uganda, this chapter
begins
to highlight particularities of education in Uganda. This
chapter, along with the one following, acts as a bridge
between
the first and second halves of the book, allowing the
reader to
fully grasp the concepts and structures relevant to
Uganda.
Kwesiga presents details on gender disparities in Ugandan
literacy and enrolments from primary through higher
education.
The chapter closes with summaries of thirteen different
measures
intended to help close the gender gap in Ugandan
educational
systems. Chapter 6 further discusses the dichotomy between
women
and men in Ugandan society. Careful reading of this
chapter
provides the reader with a robust understanding of the
systemic
discrimination against women in all sectors of
society. From the
household divisions of labor and land and property
ownership to
women in business, politics, media, and justice,
distinctions
based on gender are prevalent in decision making and hiring
practices at all levels. Women have unequal access to
health
care and education about fertility and maternity
care. They are
inadequately informed about their reproductive health and
rights. In a society in which women are prized by many for
the
income they will bring their families through bride wealth,
polygamy is prevalent, violence against women is rampant,
and
celibacy is regarded as unnatural, readers easily conclude
that
women are not valued in Ugandan culture. Overall, the
picture
painted is a bleak one. Gender has been established as,
and
remains, a national concern. Kwesiga's enduring
remark on
the final page of this part of the book is the hope that
these
chapters have helped to show the “value of education
as a
tool to reduce these barriers” (p. 152). She goes on
to
say, “Enabling Ugandan women to move through the
system to
higher education is without doubt the most sure way to
consolidate the gains made so far and to open up new
horizons.”
Part two delves into the evidence gathered in
Kwesiga's
case study of Ugandan society. The research presented is
extensive and exhaustive. Utilizing the perspectives of
parents,
students, community leaders, and educators, she provides a
full
picture of the intricacies involved in bringing about
change in
educational opportunity in Africa, generally, and Uganda,
specifically. Through systematic surveying and
interviewing,
Kwesiga is able to place her finger directly on the pulse
of
common sentiment currently held regarding educating males
versus
females in Uganda. Chapter seven begins with an
explanation of
the surveys utilized in her research. She details the key
propositions, data required, and sources of evidence to
support
each proposition. This information is all presented in an
extensive table that comprises the bulk of the
chapter. She then
delineates several themes at work among the propositions
and
spends the next three chapters reporting the findings under
each.
Chapter eight focuses on the influence the family plays
in the
educational opportunities available to girls. The first
proposition herein discusses ways in which traditional
values,
practices, and roles of women shape attitudes of opinion
leaders,
parents, and students toward the education of girls. Next,
Kwesiga analyzes a the results of a proposition that
suggests
that socio-economic status of the family has a stronger
influence
on girls' access to education than it does on
boys'.
Tables presented compare urban and rural families across
different geographic regions of the country. A
particularly
interesting table in this chapter lists various factors
affecting
drop out rates in primary, secondary, and tertiary
education.
Results are divided by gender and proximity to urban
centers. By
this point in the book, the biases one would expect are
readily
apparent. The third proposition addresses the
gender-differentiated nature of roles and division of labor
with
the assertion that female members of families carry a
heavier
portion of the burden. The results of Kwesiga's case
study
indicate that, indeed, there is a negative effect of the
unequal
division of labor – it is labeled as the second most
important obstacle to girls' education, after
parental
attitude.
Subsequent chapters proceed to detail the influence of
society
on girls' education, with emphasis placed on marriage
and
childbearing expectation, and influence of
institutions. So
embedded is the cultural gender bias that institutions
themselves
lend to the hindrance of women's access to education
through course offerings, types of secondary schools
available,
the restrictive nature of the system, lack of female role
models
in education, and lack of guidance and counseling available
to
women. In the final chapter, Kwesiga presents future
trends for
women's education in Africa. Her opening remarks
highlight
education as a human right and a resource that every
citizen
should enjoy. She reiterates her findings that education
confers
benefits on individuals, families, communities, and entire
societies. Kwesiga asserts that, for Africa,
“…
educating women provides a crucial escape route from the
poverty
trap that places the continent at the tail end of those
with
access to the essential resources of modern
development”
(p. 249). She appeals to all stakeholders to acknowledge
the
universal benefit education offers sub-Saharan African
countries. This chapter serves to synthesize the messages
and
concepts presented in the book through a reexamination of
the
human capital theory and gender and development theories as
they
are currently being applied in the region. Gender
mainstreaming
and holistic approaches to closing the gender gap are
presented.
Also, focus is placed on the responsibilities of
legislature, the
state, and international agencies for bringing about
reform. In
closing, Kwesiga states that much remains to be done to
research
and analyze policies, regional differences, and the
experiences
of individual women, but ultimately action needs to be
taken as a
result of what is already known.
This is an excellent book for many
reasons. Its
exhaustive look at barriers to educational opportunity for
women
in sub-Saharan Africa is commendable. Kwesiga's
perspective and experience provide a strong voice for the
cause
of educational reform in the region. The resources cited
and
comprehensive nature of the research undertaken by the
author
provide the reader with a nuanced understanding of the
multifaceted nature of its topic. The book arms the reader
with
a wealth of information and leaves her with a thirst for
change
in the name of girls and women in Uganda and sub-Saharan
Africa.
I found it to be an enthralling read. I was able to
readily
understand the various points of view she employed as she
systematically presented her argument for the education of
women
and girls in the region. Kwesiga's analysis was
thorough
and detailed. I look forward to reading more of her work
in the
future.
About the Reviewer
Stacy C. Miller
Higher Education and Student Affairs
Ohio State University
Currently, Stacy Miller works as an instructor for a
service-learning course which places students in mentoring
partnerships with freshmen students at an urban public high
school in Columbus, Ohio. Her academic interests include
education in developing nations, service-learning, and
international education.
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