As much as I am aware that there are numerous interventions by local and international agencies to encourage young women to attain intellectual freedom; however, very few have invested in speaking to young women’s minds with the aim of encouraging young women to seek cognitive freedom and understand why all of these resources are geared towards them. Liberating a young woman may necessitate liberating her from her own mind.

A mind that has been conditioned for a long time as a result of cultural and social pressure to undervalue herself is unlikely to subvert the status quo. To begin challenging detrimental conventions, we must first unlearn what we already know in a constructive way. I am convinced that if we start with this, everything else we build in its place will start to make sense. I myself have been a victim of this conditioning, for a long time. I have been limited in my own thoughts and have never understood why I could not break free. It took me a long time to realise that something was not quite right, and even now that I recognise the conditioning it is difficult to act against it in the moment. Given the dominance of cultural stereotypes and fear-based discipline in our society, it is no surprise that some men also fall into counterproductive modes of behaviour. Our culture has groomed us to believe that for as long as these issues are not discussed, everything is fine, out of sight, out of mind. Without realising, many of us have internalised these stereotypes, causing us to undermine our own counter-cultural thoughts and question the messages of others that go against our norms. As a result, disparities between policy and implementation are sometimes prevalent in our societies, and transformative change is difficult because the majority of people are products of their own internalised oppression.

From my own experience, when I began studying in Europe, I came to realise that I had to unlearn many of the perceptions I learned back home for me to learn effectively in foreign academic institutions and communities. Of course, this does not imply that you will adjust to everything without first evaluating it. Once you have internalised a belief it is difficult to act against it until you have identified and challenged it. I would find myself constantly stifling my own growth as a result of internalised barriers associated with negative preconceptions, to the point where I would judge myself even when no one else did. For instance, I struggled a lot to form close relationships with my academic supervisors. Most supervisors, at least in the nations outside of Sub-Saharan Africa where I have had the privilege of studying, prefer students who can confidently communicate and challenge their science over those who simply accept what is offered. This is contrary to the attitudes I encountered during my studies in Tanzania, where challenging my professors could harm my grades or my academic relationships. Even simple things like addressing them by their first names was initially challenging for me because I was accustomed to always addressing them as Professor so-and-so back home. In some circumstances, we may not be able to change some of the things that have a good impact on our societies, but we must be prepared to challenge destructive or self-defeating norms.

Would you feel comfortable challenging your teachers or professors’ views?

What are the academic or societal conventions that you feel limit the potentials of young women in education?