Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day
Love is in the air!
Valentine's Day, with its love-filled origin, allows us to express affection to loved ones and share happy moments.
But men have been saddled with the responsibility to plan for the day. Of course, with planning comes paying for the sweet treats.
According to a poll by GeoPoll, 76.5% of people believe the responsibility to plan for 2024 Valentine’s Day falls on men. Only 23.5% believe the lady should plan it.
Whoever plans it, the unanswered question is: who is to pay for the expenses?
Anyway, here is how some people plan to spend their day.
A survey by Geopoll shows that 36% of lovers in Nigeria, Kenya, and Tanzania said they would spend time with their partners in the cinema, club, and restaurant while 19% said it’s a normal day for them and they have no special plan.
Meanwhile, 18.8% have plans to go out and merry with friends and family and 13.7% are to spend time indoors with their partners.
In the last category, 12.1% of the respondents plan a solo treat for themselves to celebrate this special day.
Most Nigerian respondents said they plan to spend between N9,000 and N45,000 for their loved ones.
Also, 27.98% of participants prefer spending less than N9,000, while 12.39% plan to spend between N45,000 and N90,000.
The poll surveyed 3,560 respondents in Nigeria, Tanzania, and Kenya. The sample size was composed of random app users between 18 and 60.
How are you spending your day?
Sexual Abuse
The love that women and girls receive in their communities often appears less of sweet love and leans more towards love bombs - the kind of love where a manipulative lover starts with sweet romance but ends up harming their partner.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics 2021 Men and Women Statistical Report in Nigeria, 64.8% of sexual violence cases experienced by married women are committed by their husbands or partner.
However, the highest rate of sexual violence against unmarried women is committed by strangers.
The high rate of sexual violence and other forms of bodily harm to women makes many ladies feel unsafe in lonely places or walking alone at night.
The 2023/2024 Women, Peace, and Security Index shows that only 52% of Nigerian women feel safe walking alone at night in the city where they live. This is a 23% increase from the 42% recorded in 2021/2022.
After the peak in 2017 and 2018, the percentage of women who feel safe when they are walking alone at night in the city where they live decreased from 56% to 48% in 2019/2020.
The percentage declined further in 2021/22 before it reached the latest high in 2023/2024.
Similarly, 69.6% of the female population lived within 50 kilometres of an armed conflict event at least once during 2021-2022.
Among other insecurity threats, this validates the danger to women's safety in society.
The NBS Statistical Report on Women and Men in Nigeria shows that 31% of women aged 15 - 49 have experienced physical violence since age 15, a 12% increase from the 27.8% recorded in 2013.
The report states that violence prevents women from enjoying their fundamental human rights and freedom. In all societies, women and girls are vulnerable to physical, sexual, or psychological abuse that cuts across lines of income, class, and culture.
Women in STEM Week
This week is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, an event to celebrate the achievement and participation of women and girls in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
According to UNESCO, a significant gender gap has persisted over the years at all levels of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines all over the world.
Even though women have made tremendous progress towards increasing their participation in higher education, they are still under-represented in these fields.
A UNESCO report on Girls’ and women’s education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) shows that within the female student population in higher education globally, only 31% choose STEM-related fields of study.
Female students’ enrolment is particularly low in ICT (3%), natural science, mathematics, and statistics (5%), and engineering, manufacturing, and construction (8%); the highest is in health and welfare (15%) studies.
STEM means Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics related courses.
In Nigeria, among all disciplines considered in postgraduate enrollment in 2019, there was a wide gap between female and male enrollment in engineering and technology. Female enrollment in Engineering and Technology was 12.06%, while male enrollment was 87.4%.
In sciences, female enrollment was also lower (27.6%) compared to 72.4% of male enrollment. On the other hand, female enrolment in Basic Medical & Health Sciences, Medicine, and Education disciplines surpassed men’s with 58.05, 53.59, and 52.83% respectively. Male and female enrolments were almost the same in Pharmacy, with 50.84% and 49.16%, respectively.
Madam President emerges at the NSE
Considering this level of gender disparity in STEM enrolment, it is a delight to see a female engineer emerge as the first female president of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.
It is noteworthy that the new president, Engineer Margaret Oguntala is the 34th president of the association, coming after 33 consecutive male predecessors.
Madam Oguntala’s leadership of the Nigeria Society of Engineers is a rare feat going by the level of female participation in STEM courses.
UNESCO observed that an interplay of several factors at the individual, family, institutional and societal levels influence girls’ and women’s participation and achievement in STEM education.
Some believe that biological differences between men and women limit women’s abilities, skills, and behaviour, including their brain structure, hormones, genetics, and cognitive traits such as spatial and linguistic skills. This notion dissuades females from pursuing STEM education.
However, UNESCO reports that no differences are observed in the neural learning mechanism based on sex. While some sex differences may be observed in certain biological functions, they have little or no influence on academic ability, including in STEM subjects.
Psychological factors include how girls and boys perceive themselves, i.e. what they are good at and what is good for them, and their attitudes towards science, i.e. if they think science is important, enjoyable, and useful.
However, both factors are closely linked to the social environment, stereotyped ideas about gender roles, and the socialisation process rather than innate, biological factors, UNESCO noted.
The level of gender equality within society impacts girls' involvement and success in STEM fields.
In countries where gender equality is prevalent, girls tend to exhibit more favourable attitudes and confidence towards mathematics, leading to a smaller gender gap in achievement within the subject.
Senorita Asks❓
What matters: who plans today’s Valentine treat or who pays for the treat?
Thanks for Reading this edition of SenorRita. See you next time!
This edition of SenorRita was composed by Funmilayo Babatunde.