Dr Aisha Bawa of the Department of History, Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto (UDUS), says recruitment of more female lecturers would reduce sexual harassments on campuses.
NAN reports that the Senior Lecturer spoke in an interview with newsmen on Sunday in Sokoto.
She stressed that having more women in academia would curb sex-for-marks menace and other forms of harassment.
Bawa, the only female lecturer in the Department of History in UDUS, said: “When there are more female lecturers, the female students will feel free to discuss their issues with them than going to the male folk.
“So more representation will help the system to wipe out issues of sex-for-marks and other sexual harassment strategies”.
The lecturer noted that having more females in the system would also encourage them to work hard.
“They (students) have been calling the mother of the department. They feel happy when they see me as the only female in the department and feel free to come to me than to go to the men because I welcome them as my children,” Bawa said.
The don, however, acknowledged that a lot of requirements in the academic system restrain women.
“After the first degree, some women find it very difficult to come back for Masters and the university system is a system that you need to have additional qualification for you to fit in,” she noted.
Sexual harassment in schools has been a major issue in the education sector.
In recent years, there has been an increase in advocacy and exposure of victims’ ordeals thanks to social media
Last month, Dr Afeez Baruwa, a former lecturer at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) was sentenced to 21- year imprisonment by an Ikeja high court for raping an 18-year-old girl admission seeker.
