WUNRN
SWEDEN - ICT "SPIDER"
PROJECTS FOR WOMEN IN DEVELOPING REGIONS
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Publication:
This Swedish report looks at recently concluded gender focused projects in the rural regions of the global south that were supported by Spider. With specific focus on the outcomes the report considers the impact on the lives of the women who participated in the different projects. The volume further draws on theories from gender and technology studies in analyzing the social and technical implications on the women’s lives.
http://www.comminit.com/ict-4-development/content/empowering-women-through-ict
From the Swedish Program for ICT in
Developing Regions (Spider) ICT for Development (ICT4D) Series No. 4, this
publication looks at recently concluded gender-focused information and
communication technology (ICT) projects in the rural regions of the global
south that Spider supported (with additional partners) from 2007 until early
2011. With specific focus on the outcomes of these projects, the report
considers the impact on the lives of the women who participated in the
different projects. The volume further draws on theories from gender and
technology studies in analysing the social and technical implications on the
women's lives.
The introductory section examines
"the gender digital divide", which refers to prevailing inequalities
in access to ICTs throughout the world that have the implication that many
women are hindered by their social and economic circumstances from developing a
relationship with ICT. The author of the report, Caroline Wamala, explains the
difference between gender as a social category and the fact that the projects
reviewed in this report are actually women-centred.
After a brief overview of gender,
technology, and ICT in development, the publication discusses project
activities situated within the local context, with a general profile of each
country. Thereafter, the details of the project activities and outcomes are
provided in broad strokes leading up to an analysis of the impact of ICT on the
women's lives. Specifically, this publication covers five different projects
carried out in six different locations. In summary:
- There were two projects
in Bolivia:
- One
focusing on empowering female indigenous leaders: In order to increase
lobbying activities and decision-making practices on the part of the
Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of Eastern Bolivia (CIDOB), a core
group of 100 women participated in computer skills development. The
training was tailored to political leadership and was designed to build the
women's self-worth. Tools used included: interactive platforms such as
blogs, wikis, and Skype, as well as traditional media such as television
and radio. "For example, through television an advertisement
campaign on the new constitution was subjected to a gender analysis that
gave special focus to the unique rights and needs of indigenous women in
Bolivia." Brief statement of impact: "The overall use
of ICTs has empowered these women especially the Internet resources have
created a greater awareness of governance issues and technical forms of
communication."
- One
focusing on providing female victims of domestic violence with a safe
virtual environment where they could receive support and exchange
experiences and information: The Casa de la Mujer domestic violence
support programme used ICT to support women's needs to speak while at the
same time heeding their desire to remain anonymous. The programme
established six telecenters across three districts in the region of Santa
Cruz. Approximately 100 women acquired training in legal issues related
to domestic violence, also learning to write blogs. They developed
training content and virtual platforms that are still in use. The courses
included education on human rights and on raising their self-esteem, in
addition to introducing gender equality discussions within the framework
of domestic violence. The women established forums at the telecentres to
expand the number of end users. Brief statement of impact:
"The project found that victims of domestic violence are paralyzed
into silence by the fear of being identified. ICTs, however, are changing
this situation as regular radio broadcasts featuring stories of domestic
violence and the online clinic are slowly chipping away at the public,
private boundary as the public exposure of real stories has given more
women the courage to come forward."
- A research project in
Vietnam focused on the consideration given to gender in the development of
ICT: The focus was directed at companies in hardware, software, and ICT
services development in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The material was
gathered through survey questionnaires and personal interviews with the
companies. Of the 207 companies interviewed, only six of them (3%)
confirmed taking women's technical needs into consideration, while 74% did
not differentiate between men and women (23% did not answer the question).
"However, as mentioned in the introduction to this volume, men are
the implicit norm and are therefore by default assumed to be the
74%." Brief statement of impact: "207 Vietnamese
companies became more aware of the benefits of having a gender aspect
during their work processes. Some of them have expressed an interest in
diversifying production to include specific requirements that take gender
differences into account."
- A project in Rwanda
focused on integrating ICT into women's basket-weaving practices in order
to explore the opportunities of an online presence as well as the
preservation of traditional practices: 8 women members of Duhuzimbaraga
Cooperative, an umbrella organisation for handicraft cooperatives, were
given laptops and digital cameras. The women were taught how to use the
camera to capture their basket-weaving skills as well as the finished
products. They were also instructed in how to upload the pictures onto
computers and create a descriptive log for each basket. "The success
of the project at hand lies to a large extent in the fact that ICT was
streamlined into everyday activities of rural women. The project used
basket weaving, a practice that women were already skilled in, as a
gate-way to introduce ICT." Brief statement of impact: In
addition to proving that rural women can learn to use ICT, "[t]he
project instilled these women with the knowledge that their craft does
matter and is likely to appeal to an audience that is both wider and
geographically remote from their current location. Capturing the weaving
processes digitally will archive these disappearing traditional skills and
ensure that they are available to future generations."
- A project carried out in
both Kenya and India focused primarily on women's self-help groups (SHGs)
and emphasised ecological sustainability, diversification of livelihood,
and basic training in ICT:
- More
than 89 women in the coastal villages of Kenya were brought together with
a small percentage of men who were also members of the SHGs. Given that
fishing is a key activity in those villages, the project sought to
empower women by introducing supplementary income-generating activities
to their families. The infrastructure in Kenya was a challenge as none of
the SHGs had access to electricity in their meeting areas. The e-learning
materials covering numeracy, literacy, and environment that had been
developed were provided on XO laptops. Local women were employed as village
coordinators at the ICT centres, which were run as income-generating
businesses. Mobile pay phones were also provided to the SHGs as one of
the income generating activities. Brief statement of impact:
"Before this project, many of these women could not read, write or
count...There are several success stories that have exceeded the project
objectives. Women such as Binti Omanri, Mwanaasha Gema and Saidi Boga
took up the role of office managers in their respective villages, and are
in charge of the ICT facilities that were gained through the
project."
- In
India, a total of 312 participants, mostly women, took part in the SHG
training programme in five coastal villages. Brief statement of
impact: "The beneficiaries gained access to group loans,
extended their language skills by improving their English, and supported
their husbands fishing practices by buying fishing gear. Some started
small to medium enterprises..."
In conclusion, the report examines
technological and social sustainability. One core strategic recommendation:
"Success of women-centered projects in general hinges on the ability to
ensure that the technology is adapted to suit the women's reality." The
uses of ICT were related to women's everyday activities to demystify the
technology. In other words, the success of the projects hinged on the extent to
which technology was adapted to suit women's reality, and not vice versa.
Established in
2004, Spider is based at the Department of Computer and Systems Sciences (DSV)
at Stockholm University, Sweden. Spider is primarily financed by the Swedish
International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), with complementary funding
from Stockholm University.