Project on mentorship for female students in higher education

Numerous efforts have been put into practice to improve access to higher education for female students in Kenya. These efforts, however, have not paid particular attention the completion rates of young female students in institutions of higher learning. Maseno University in Western Kenya, working together with VU Amsterdam and LakeHub (a local institute that provides training to women to strengthen their life skills) on the e-GEM project, aims to address drop-out rates of young female students. The objective of the project is to develop a mentorship programme at Maseno University that will support female students in completing their education. It is expected that having a supportive and enabling organizational environment at the university will result in lower drop-out rates for these students.

Lillian Omondi of Maseno University is a coordinator of the e-GEM project: “The project focuses on mentoring young female students, to enable them to complete their education. Mentorship is already happening informally, so we realized the need for a structured mentorship programme. Struggling students often feel like their problems are too big to overcome and they drop out. It can help if someone close to you lets you know that you’re not the first person going through this.”

Marina de Regt: “In many countries in the Global South girls often drop out of school during primary and secondary education. While this is also the case in Kenya, impressive progress has already been made to get female students into higher education, especially if they come from a poor background. It is thus a shame when they drop out at this level. We need these women, and they have already come so far.” 

Dr. Lillian Omondi is a sociologist who teaches sociology and anthropology at Maseno University. She has worked with women and young people from marginalized communities on issues such as social inclusion. Dr. Marina de Regt is an anthropologist at VU Amsterdam with research experience in gender and development in for example Yemen, Ethiopia and Jordan. She has worked on projects related to women’s paid work, adolescent girls' migration, and early marriage.

What are some of the problems female students face?

Lillian: “The biggest issues for female students in public universities are economic. They come from humble backgrounds; their parents struggle to make ends meet. When they come here, some are lucky to get higher education loans, but some don’t. They struggle to feed themselves, to buy basics for class. Those economic issues lead to social issues. For example, some female students cohabit with their male counterparts, so they don’t have to pay rent. In some of these cases, male students expect them to stay home and perform so-called ‘wifely duties’, to wash clothes, cook and take care of the household while the men go to class. Or there are older, married men who prey on young girls, making it look like a relationship but actually paying them for their services.”

How has the situation been for female students in Kenya since the COVID-19 crisis?

Lillian: “It was very difficult. When female students go to college, they’re often removed from the responsibilities and roles that women are expected to fulfil in the households and can focus on their studies. With COVID-19 they went back home and fell back into these old roles. We also live in a patriarchal society, so priority is often given to the male child. If a family has only one laptop or iPad, the boy is often given priority to follow online classes.”

What are your own experiences in higher education and with mentorship?

Lillian: “My mother did not go to school, her father preferred educating her brothers. She really wanted me to go to school. I came from a poor background, so I got a loan for university, but that only took care of tuition. The first year was very difficult because I had no money for food, and I bottled all these problems up. I was in a small class of 11 students, they figured out something was going on, and classmates and faculty members started talking to me and lending a hand, and through them, I received a job on the student council. Mentorship helped me along, and I realized I have problems, but I shouldn’t let them overwhelm me.”

Marina: “In any society, it’s important to have role models, people that overcame the same challenges as you are facing. My mother did not receive higher education, and she really wanted me to continue my education. When I was at university I formed a support group with other female students, and I had a very good supervisor who functioned as my mentor.”

“Mothers often see the need for their daughters to receive an education. But sometimes fathers and brothers have different opinions, and they take a lot of decisions. We should not only educate and mentor women but also the men who might look down on education for their sisters and girlfriends.”

Lillian: “We need positive masculinity, men need to know that they should be a support system for their sisters, partners, and wives. We need to change how men view women and thus how women view themselves.”

What arguments do you use to emphasise the importance of education for women?

Lillian: “Women might not have as much decision making power, in their society or family, but what they know influences choices that are made in these groups. When you have a girl and she’s able to finish her studies, the knowledge that she has influences choices that are made in the household, and so the household is better off.”

Marina: “We need bottom-up changes, but also change on policy levels. We see this in every country, as soon as there are women in politics, other issues will be put on the agenda. We don’t say women would do everything better, but I’m convinced that when you have diverse leaders, there’s better insight into the challenges we face because people experienced them themselves.”

Lillian: “I appreciate the strides that are being made, the Kenyan government focused on primary and secondary education and at least now women have basic skills and can participate in the labour market. But if women receive higher education, it means that they are in a better position to inform policy.”

What did you experience that motivated you on this topic?

Marina: “I frequently recognize myself in my female students. They are often insecure, just like I was as a student and as a PhD student. I compared myself with the authors whose work I was reading and that made me very insecure. I played myself down, thinking that I don’t belong in academia. I tell my students I still have insecurities. But I’m also proud of what I have achieved and I want them to be able to be proud of themselves as well. My biggest advice to students is that there are millions of ways to write a thesis or an academic article, find your own way.”

Lillian: “When I started teaching at university, I was pretty young, almost the age of my students. Most were not listening; they were doing their own thing. Halfway through I gave them an assessment and they all failed miserably. When I gave them the results the whole class was annoyed. I told them: “if it doesn’t kill you, it makes you stronger”. Years later, one of the girls I taught called me and said: I remember what you told us that day, and it has been my driving force since.”

“Four years ago, she sent me a link highlighting influential women on International Women’s Day. I go down this list and she’s on there! I felt like a proud parent, to have been a part of that journey with her. As a mentor we also learn from our mentees, they end up much braver and achieving so much more.”

What advice would you give female students?

Lillian: “Have a goal. You might end up having different roads leading up to it, and things might not turn out as you thought. But if you have a goal, it’s difficult to get derailed. Define what you want to achieve.”

Marina: “Believe in yourself. You’re good the way you are, we all have our unique competencies and abilities. Find what yours are and enjoy them!”

For more information about e-GEM, visit the website of the Centre for International Cooperation.