Female Participation in African Universities: Effective Strategies for Enhancing Their Participation with Reference to the University of Dar es salaam, Tanzania

Abstract
This paper gives an overview of factors that mitigate against women’s participation in institutions of higher learning in Africa in general and Tanzania in particular as well as efforts that are being made to address the issue. Specific issues addressed in this paper are centered on the extent to which strategies, in terms of order of priorities, appropriate mix of approaches, as perceived by selected senior female professionals at the University of Dar es Salaam, as a case study, enhance females’ participation and/or minimize factors that militate against females participation in the affairs of the University as beneficiaries and suppliers of services. Selection of professionals is based on either their experience/role they play/played in the affirmative measures taken to raise female students enrollment, provision of counseling services, spearheading gender sensitization workshops etc. It is also based on their involvement in pre higher education intervention measures in enhancing females’ confidence in self-actualization in the context of ‘real persons’ rather than ‘molded figures’ in pursuing higher education and subsequently working in institutions of higher education. Other people interviewed included Senior University officials, irrespective of gender, and selected beneficiaries of the affirmative actions taken at the University of Dar es Salaam. Recommendations on the best strategies are drawn from accounts of published and unpublished materials; and the qualitative analysis of the interviews within the context of higher education policy and its implementation as perceived by the interviewees in addressing the issue.
Description
Keywords
Citation
Nawe, J., 2002, April. Female participation in African Universities: effective strategies for enhancing their participation with reference to the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. In 28th Annual Spring Symposium, African Universities in the 21st Century, University of Illinois/CODESRIA, Dakar, Senegal (pp. 25-27).