Pakistan Realog

Mobile phones are the most commonly available of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the rural areas but its availability alone is insufficient to enable rural women to telecommunicate.

This was found in a study on ‘The Gender Digital Divide in Rural Pakistan’ details of which were discussed by Dr Karin Astrid Siegmann of Sustainable Development Policy Institute who led the study at a one-day stakeholder workshop at National Press Club here Monday. The workshop was attended by representatives of grassroots-level organisations from Bolan, Tharparkar, Muzaffargarh and Battagram.

Dr Karin said that almost half of all surveyed households in the four districts own at least one mobile phone set, reflecting the phenomenal growth of mobile connections in the country during the past decade. She said that according to 40 per cent of all female respondents, they needed permission of their husbands, fathers and brothers to make calls as they largely owned the sets. This indicates that rather than network coverage and the presence of mobile phones alone, socio-cultural factors also determine whether ICTs reach female users in rural areas.

The hurdles women and girls face include negative perceptions of their technological skills. A large majority of respondents strongly agreed with the statement that “men have a natural advantage in the use of technologies.” Apart from the low regard of women’s skill to use technologies, some ICTs themselves have a bad image. While several interviewees see some TV channels as promoting vulgarity, mobile phones are regarded as dangerous in girls’ hands, in particular. Mothers fear that their daughters will use mobiles for dating. The role of boys in such socially unacceptable use of telecommunication technology is largely ignored, she said.

Cultural norms may also represent an obstacle in the government’s efforts to provide affordable access to ICTs to the rural population through telecommunication centres. Apart from the e-literacy issues involved in making telecommunication, computers and internet useful for women and girls in rural areas, they usually cannot move freely outside home.

Women mostly do not require permission for listening to the radio or watching TV which are simple to use. The women and men use such broadcasting equipment chiefly for the purposes of both entertainment and information access provides a good platform for contents related to human development and women’s empowerment.

Source: The News

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