Recruitment and Retention of Somali Female Students Accessing Higher Education in Dadaab, Kenya

This paper examines the experiences of five Somali refugee women living and participating in higher education programs in Dadaab, Kenya with a particular focus on centering their narratives. Through exploring the different factors impacting the recruitment and retention of women in higher education in a refugee higher education context, this paper seeks to present participants’ autonomy and ownership of their lived experiences and stories. Drawing from the perspectives of these five women who were interviewed, this paper argues that the access and participation of Somali refugee women in higher education are influenced by several key factors that cannot be limited to culture, religion and being a refugee. The presented narratives will counter conventional discourse from the global north through showcasing their lived experiences and perceptions - thus this is a qualitative study and their shared narratives need to be understood as their own and not representative of all Somali female refugees living in Dadaab.