Introduction
Modern colleges and universities often portray themselves as egalitarian and integrated institutions. Women rights activists often advocate for the abolition of gender segregation in academic institutions terming it a discriminatory practice that impedes female participation in public life. However, culture, which holds a central place in people’s lives, has a big influence on social behavior, interests, and self-expression values. Self-expression and actualization are the cornerstones of human identity. In this view, segregated educational systems foster expressive attitudes that lead to the development of positive feminine or masculine identities, self-expression, and moral virtues. This paper presents a three-point argument in favor of gender segregation in universities based on: cultural values, differences in psychological attributes, and sexuality.
Cultural Values
Social relations in many cultures depend on cultural stereotypes and gender roles that define masculine and feminine activities and behavior. This shows that gender stereotypes are deeply embedded in modern cultures. An individual perceives and interprets his/her social roles in the society through ‘gendered lenses’. In Muslim societies, gender mixing in all interactional contexts, is discouraged. The idea is to keep a female from a non-related male.
Thus, university gender segregation conforms to Islamic values by preventing the mixing of genders. It also facilitates the growth of attitudes, interests, and expectations that are either feminine or masculine. The socialized values and interests result in gender-differentiated roles shaped by social pressures present in a given culture. In this regard, gender segregation helps female and male students pursue curricular fields that are consistent with their respective gendered interests and values.
Western cultures, which tend towards gender integration, place emphasis placed on free expression and individual choice. However, early gender socialization or acculturation results in sex typed behaviors and attitudes. Segregated educational systems allow male and female students to draw from their cultural and social resources and express themselves freely.
Moreover, by conforming to cultural scripts on gender-specific disciplines, college students can realize their full potential, as opposed to contravening the norms. In addition, individual preferences and values relate strongly to culture. The assimilation of cultural values makes men and women to have different preferences for particular study programs. Thus, segregation in colleges enhances self-expressive values essential in developing successful careers.
Differences in Psychological Attributes
Women and men have different psychological qualities that affect how they value certain fields of study. Psychologically, men differ from women with regard to attributes like competitiveness and risk aversion. Generally, males tend to be more competitive and risk takers compared to females. The fear of failure also prevents women from engaging in competitive undertakings. Given these differences, only a segregated education can meet the academic needs of male and female students.
Furthermore, highly aggressive or competitive environments tend to disfavor women who are known to be caring and affectionate. Even those who exhibit strong abilities tend to dislike competition. In contrast, women tend to do well in single-sex schools because they are free of male aggression. Thus, sex segregation can help address gender differences that affect career preferences and choices. In addition, the difference in ‘ways of knowing’ whereby men favor justice while women tend to be caring creates a natural hierarchical system that separates them into two mutually exclusive categories. Education segregation helps nurture gender-specific attributes and values.
Sexuality
Young men and women joining universities are usually in their post-puberty years, a stage where they start dating. Dating consumes much of the young people’s learning time resulting into poor grades. Gender segregation creates a desexualized environment that is conducive for learning. Moreover, such environments can help students preserve their ‘Ired’, which defines chastity and family honor in Islam. Chastity is regarded as a virtue in Islam and thus, gender segregation in schools helps preserve the ‘Ired’. Therefore, by separating the genders, the likelihood that students will lose their chastity is minimized.
Gender segregation at university level also prevents students from engaging in sexual relations. In this way, students can focus on their studies, as distractions are minimal in segregated environments. In particular, for students who studied in single-sex schools during their elementary and secondary education, the opposite sex can be an “erotic creation”. Therefore, university gender segregation can help protect good virtues in students.
Conclusion
Gender segregation at tertiary level has many advantages. It fosters self-realization, conforms to cultural and gendered values, takes into consideration the psychological attributes of both genders resulting in higher academic attainment, and prevents the effects of overt sexuality. Thus, university gender segregation helps in the development of positive civic virtues and skills for both sexes.