Promoting Gender Equality in Unilag’s Sporting Climate

By Charles Maduka and Nancy Omotoun

The University of Lagos (Unilag) is known for academic excellence and a strong sporting tradition. Beyond producing brilliant minds, Unilag has taken important steps to promote gender equality in sports, giving female athletes the platform to shine alongside their male counterparts. This commitment is helping to break gender stereotypes and empower young women to reach their full potential.

Unilag has worked hard to provide equal access to sports facilities and competitions for both male and female students. The university ensures that its female athletes have the same opportunities to train, compete, and showcase their talents as the male athletes do. This commitment is evident in the school’s policies, which encourage female participation in various sports, including traditionally male-dominated ones like football and basketball.

Unilag supports female athletes with experienced coaches, sports psychologists, and fitness experts who help them stay in top form. The university also organizes inter-faculty competitions and encourages female participation in national university games like the Nigeria University Games Association (NUGA) events, and the Federation of African University Games, FASU.

Ossy Julius Chelsea, a 300-level student of Mass Communication in the University of Lagos, Unilag, think’s that Unilag is doing its best in allowing everyone, (Male-Female) to participate equally in sporting activities.

“Unilag is really doing its best to make sure that everyone participates in all sporting event. When we want to have any sporting competition, there are always programs for both genders,” she said.

“Since I joined the school team, I have never heard of any incident where any female was denied the opportunity to participate in any sports related event. Mostly, we train for Unilag sporting competitions together. We always have equal chance to participate in everything. Females always have access to all sports facilities that are available in the University.

Udo Gabriel Success, a 300-level student of Economics, and an athlete who has won numerous medals for the University of Lagos, including a gold medal in the women’s 100m relay and a silver medal in the mixed relays at the 2024 FASU Games tournament, said that Unilag ensures equal representation for both genders across different sporting activities.

She believes that the University has lots of sporting events which are inclusive for the female child. “The departments and faculties, organize sporting events every semester for students that have interest in sports to participate. The school does its best to support the female athletes in all spheres in other for them to be up to standard when competing out there.”

Unilag’s unwavering support in inclusive sports reflects in their sporting programs such as the Departmental and Faculty’s Cups, where females compete in contact sports like football, basketball, and volleyball. They are also dedicated in improving female participation in sports by giving all female students access to the sporting facilities in the University’s campus.