Ivory Tower as a Site of Empowerment and Environment of Risk for Female Students at Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia

Issues: The view that education leads to women's empowerment, and indirectly to gender “equality,” has gained in popularity. Goal three of the global Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) aims at empowering women through policies and programs that builds women's capabilities, improves their access to economic and political opportunity, and guarantees their safety. Yet, further research is needed to understand how exactly education empowers women and translates into “better lives” for women.

Description: In this study, I examine how women navigate, negotiate, and mediate their sexual and reproductive health in the complex university environment. First, I will describe the range of health concerns faced by women on campus. Next, I will outline the strategies women (and men) take to promote positive health and prevent negative health outcomes. Lastly, I will discuss future prevention strategies that can be taken to promote a safe, healthy, and academically successful environment for women on campus. In my discussion, I will highlight the need for global higher education efforts to take into account the present-day conditions that women face to create an environment where impact to sexual and reproductive health is minimized, and higher education is attained.