Why create a single-sex university?
Throughout much of the developing world, girls and women are often subject to unequal treatment and have limited access to education compared to boys and men; the disparity increases significantly at higher levels of education (i.e. worse at secondary, but worst at tertiary). Women from rural and poor populations are particularly disadvantaged in their educational opportunities. AUW aims precisely to address these disparities: to respond to the lack of sufficient opportunities for higher education for women across the region. An institution devoted to women can offer its students a safe and supportive environment for learning, in which no doors are closed and the most ambitious endeavors are encouraged. It is also important to note that in communities that do not permit young women to live away from home in coeducational institutions, the unavailability of women’s-only options could mean entirely foregoing the education of these women. AUW provides an alternative option as an all women
