Significant personality differences in girls studying in women colleges and co-ed institutes: Prof. Sabiha Bhoomi Gowda

Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, Minister for Higher Education M.C. Sudhakar, Vice-Chancellor of Maharani Cluster University, Bengaluru, Manjunatha T.M., along with other dignitaries, felicitated the recipients of honorary doctorates, during the 2nd and 3rd convocation of Maharani Cluster University in Bengaluru on Friday.
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ALLEN EGENUSE J.

Sabiha Bhoomi Gowda, feminist thinker and former Vice-Chancellor of the Karnataka State Akkamahadevi Women’s University, said that women-only educational institutes pushed young women to shoulder all responsibilities, which was not the case in co-educational spaces.

Delivering the convocation address of Maharani Cluster University, Bengaluru, a girls-only institution, Prof. Bhoomi Gowda said, “I had worked for many years in co-educational spaces and observed significant differences in the personalities of young women studying in colleges for women and co-educational institutes.”

“Young women in co-educational institutes, although talented, do not express their views clearly, do not think independently, and do not willingly accept any responsibility unless it is forced upon them. On the other hand, in girls-only educational institutions, it is the opposite,” she said.

“Since they have to do every task themselves, they shoulder all the responsibilities without any hesitation. So this is a phenomenon worthy of thought,” she said.

“Young women like you, who are in a socially advanced position should understand your responsibility towards other women who are not as privileged as you. We need to find the root causes of the atrocities against women, which are increasing day by day, and uproot them from the grass-root level,” she said.

Minister for Higher Education M.C. Sudhakar said that it was a matter of concern that enrolment in Maharani Cluster University has been declining since it was declared a cluster university. He said there was a need to teach more courses that lead to employment opportunities.

Governor and Chancellor of the university Thaawarchand Gehlot said that respect for women has been an integral part of the nation’s history, scriptures, and puranas. “Our Constitution guarantees equal status to women and empowers States to take affirmative action to strengthen their role in society. Women’s reservation is one of the steps that ensure their equal participation in public life and nation building,” he said.

Maharani Cluster University conferred honorary doctorates to six eminent personalities including senior actor Bharathi Vishnuvardhan, industrialist Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, former women cricketer Veda Krishnamurthy, writer and activist Du. Saraswathi, philanthropist H.N. Usha, and homeopathy B.T. Rudresh.