I stakeholders’ interventions in addressing the socioeconomic barriers to refugee women access to higher education: a case of Bidibidi Settlement in Northern Uganda

Abstract

The study explored stakeholders‘ interventions in addressing socioeconomic barriers to refugee women access to higher education using Bidibidi refugee settlement in Northern Uganda as a case study. The objectives of the study were to; investigate stakeholders‘ interventions towards addressing gender roles and norms; establish stakeholders‘ interventions in addressing sexual violence; and examine stakeholders‘ interventions geared towards addressing financial constraints that obstruct Bidibidi Refugee women access to higher education. The study used qualitative research approach anchored in the advocacy world view and underpinned by the liberal feminism. Using purposive and snowball sampling techniques, 49 participants were selected. The study found that enabling policies and laws; awareness raising on gender roles; men involvement were among the interventions geared towards addressing gender roles and norms. The study also found that multi-sectoral support, including coordination and advocacy, were practiced in order to address sexual violence; and to address financial constraints, scholarships and actions seeking to economically empower women were being promoted. Despite these interventions, this study found that a number of varied intersecting factors, including but not limited to the age limit on scholarship, marital status, length of a study programme, field of study preference, length of stay in the settlement, gender, economic standing and citizenship status disadvantaged refugee women access to higher education. The study concludes that the stakeholders‘ interventions have not comprehensively addressed socioeconomic barriers that obstruct refugee women access to higher education. Therefore, the study recommends that higher education stakeholders should continuously identify and address intersecting factors in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of interventions addressing socioeconomic barriers. Also, the government and partners should review and strengthen the already existing interventions and widen the resource base that can support refugee women access to higher education. Online or blended higher education programmes should be established and supported in the refugee settlement. Finally, an affirmative action policy should be enforced to widen refugee women‘s access to higher education. From this study I developed a multidimensional model with intersecting variables that could be adopted in designing and implementing stakeholder interventions to increase higher education access for refugee women.