Friday, March 8, 2013

Blog 6: Sex for Education?


Women who attend Liberian Universities are facing many challenges when they attend these schools. The women that attend the schools in this area are being target by male professors as sex objects. Many students who are female have been harassed by male counterparts in forcing them into sex to get good grades. Women are afraid of speaking up about the sexual harassment because there is no support for the women and their rights as individuals. Students who have experienced sexual harassment form male professors and male students feel that they do not have a voice because the university officials value the professors and they will not get rid of them. The article also explains that in this area of Africa it is very common for women to be forced to have sex with professors in order to get passing grades.

One student who is rising to stop this harassment is a woman named Famata Adrekis. She is attending one of the universities that are having a problem in stopping the sexual harassment. What she is doing to help stop this problem is creating a save place at the university where others can talk about their situations and get the help that they need. Also in the article it explains that there is an organization called ActionAid that is also trying to change the problem practice of selling sex for grades in the universities in certain parts of Africa.

This problem needs to be addressed in a very quick manner. Women are selling their bodies just so they can get a better education; that just seems very unfair for the fact men do not have to do the same. The female student that was mentioned in the article is doing a very brave thing in stopping the practice of transactional sex. Women in these areas need to have more rights in allowing them to obtain higher education and not fearing that they need to “pay” the male teacher in sex in order to pass. University officials need to change some policies to stop this practice that is placing fear in women’s lives. One thing that needs to change is the punishment that the professors will face if they force a female student to have sex with them; that type of relationship is not very professional. Professors are very important to a university but they should not have too much power to where they are forcing themselves on females. Rules and regulations need to be placed because women are not second rate in society. They deserve to have an education and not fear that they will have crude comments told to them by professors or other male classmates. 

Source:
Liberian women battle against 'sex for grades' at universities

Ashley Roberts
3/8/2013
8:52pm 

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