Sexism in our universities: A sobering reality

In recent times, women's achievements in education have been making headlines in news portals and media outlets almost every other day. Women's participation in education appears to be at an all-time high and continuously growing, the gender disparity is decreasing day by day in every important evaluation. These statistics may give one the impression that misogyny in education has been left in the olden days, when the reality is anything but.

Women's access to education and social acceptance have improved to a great degree, without a doubt. That isn't to say women's access to higher education doesn't contain many socioeconomic impediments, but even for the percentage of female students who have the privilege of pursuing higher education, certain biases and prejudices continue to persist.

These prejudices take on many forms, starting from seemingly harmless remarks but oftentimes escalating to harassment. Women also face significant discrimination in terms of academics itself, thanks to the pre-existing bias that they're less competent than their male peers.

Maria Gomes, an alumnus of BRAC University (BRACU), recounts an incident from her undergraduate days, "I was taking a Physics course, and on the day our graded test papers were being returned I went to class dressed up. During a discussion about the correct answers, the faculty member sees it fit to look at me and crack a joke about how only dressing up will not fetch me good marks. I had actually scored 9/10 in that test."

This manner of internalised sexism is especially prevalent in male dominated fields like engineering. Anisa Binte Asad, a student of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) in Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), speaks about the unfair bias she's often had to face during her journey, "During group projects in labs, I often feel ignored as most students tend to prefer male teammates. My other female classmates as well as my seniors can vouch for this, as we're always unwelcome in teams. Not to mention, there are a few teachers who will ignore the female students in class and place more importance on the male students, going as far as to insist upon speaking to the absent male class representative over a present female one. My male classmates have also used the word 'woman' derogatorily while arguing amidst themselves."

These situations are often difficult to tackle, as they're often more implicit than outright. "There's rarely anything you can do about these situations. You can't just ask things like 'why don't you want me in your team, is it because I'm a woman?'" adds Anisa.

While it may not be possible to completely eradicate the invisible bias, it's at least expected that faculty members and authority figures should create an environment conducive to the learning of all students, regardless of their gender identity or socioeconomic status. Regrettably, such isn't always the case. Even though most teachers tend to diligently perform their duties of educating students fairly, a small percentage continue to perpetuate the prejudice. As they are in a position of power, these incidents tend to hold more weight and affect female students negatively.

Tawa Choudhury*, a student of Canadian University of Bangladesh, speaks about incidents he has observed.

"A faculty member in my university had to be fired due to multiple complaints against him. In order to appear relatable to the class, he went on to call a female student a gold digger, whereas her only fault was in being conventionally pretty. Such subtle misogynistic jokes are passed along every other day, and if anyone speaks up about it, they're told that there is no need to be serious as it's only just humour."

Asmita Mehefin, a student of Biotechnology in BRACU, talks about how demotivating it can be to be on the receiving end of discriminatory discourse. "I'm in a female dominated programme, and in my class a teacher mentioned that women shouldn't study subjects like business at all, as fields like biology are more suitable for them. In her opinion, women are good at only sitting and studying rather than starting businesses."

Preconceptions such as this tend to affect women who study in male dominated fields. According to Asmita, her female friends in the Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) department tend to face such prejudices disproportionately. Not to mention, situations may escalate to the point where the safety of female students may directly be under threat.

"A friend of mine once rejected the advances of a fellow student who happened to be my acquaintance. He proceeded to stalk her, going as far as to record her without consent. She felt paranoid for a long time about her safety and privacy after she came to know about this incident. There have even been instances where a male student would find the contact numbers of his female classmates and harass them over text," further shares Asmita.

This discrimination doesn't only stop with women, oftentimes affecting queer students as well. Tawa recounts an experience where the expelled faculty member called a male student a hijra derogatorily.

Asmita mentions, "An acquaintance of mine, shortly after returning from BRAC University's residential semester, told me in a rather mocking tone that she was in disbelief that a transgender person was allowed to conduct a Philosophy course."

Many of us continue to brush off minor incidents of sexism as we pursue our education, but not doing anything about it makes a change in the status quo unlikely. Not to mention, while some of us are in a position to simply ignore the negativity, many female students are faced with situations where that is not an option.

Tawa believes that it is the students who have the power to turn the situation over. "Incidents like this have often led to lower attendances, but for the most part, the female students are simply used to it, which I believe is worse. Change must start with students speaking out against facilities and facilities that are appointed in a university should have to have clearance in these sorts of cases. But mostly, it's more impactful when students speak out against these things because students actually have much more power in these cases," he opines.

In Asmita's words, "Firstly, we must look after the students. If the privacy or safety of a female student is violated, action must be taken against it. An increased awareness may also help in improving the situation."

To sustain women's progress in education, it must first be ensured female students are being treated fairly and provided with a safe environment. Participation alone cannot be the only quotient to judge women's standings in education.