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<div data-externalstyle="false" dir="ltr" style="font-family: 'Calibri', 'Segoe UI', 'Meiryo', 'Microsoft YaHei UI', 'Microsoft JhengHei UI', 'Malgun Gothic', 'sans-serif';font-size:12pt;"><div><font face=" 'Calibri', 'Segoe UI', 'Meiryo', 'Microsoft YaHei UI', 'Microsoft JhengHei UI', 'Malgun Gothic', 'sans-serif'" style='line-height: 15pt; letter-spacing: 0.02em; font-family: "Calibri", "Segoe UI", "Meiryo", "Microsoft YaHei UI", "Microsoft JhengHei UI", "Malgun Gothic", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;'><b>From:</b> <a href="mailto:wunrn1@gmail.com" target="_parent">WUNRN LISTSERVE</a><br><b>Sent:</b> Sunday, May 25, 2014 11:18 AM<br><b>To:</b> <a href="mailto:WUNRN_LISTSERVE@lists.wunrn.com" target="_parent">WUNRN ListServe</a></font></div><div><br></div><div dir="">
<div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">WUNRN</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><a href="http://www.wunrn.com" target="_parent">http://www.wunrn.com</a></font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2"><strong>MEASURING THE INFORMATION SOCIETY 2013
REPORT</strong></font></div>
<div> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2"><a href="http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/publications/mis2013/MIS2013_without_Annex_4.pdf" target="_parent">http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/publications/mis2013/MIS2013_without_Annex_4.pdf</a></font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">Includes Access Indicators for
Countries</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2"><a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/05/women-ict-africa-new-digital-ga-201452210244121558.html" target="_parent">http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/05/women-ict-africa-new-digital-ga-201452210244121558.html</a></font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">
<div><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"><span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"><span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: rgb(80, 80, 80); line-height: 115%; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;">Women & ICT in
Africa</span></span></span></span></font></div></font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">MOBILE & INTERNET TECHNOLOGY CAN HELP AFRICAN
WOMEN BECOME MORE FINANCIALLY INDEPENDENT.</font></div>
<div>
<p><span>In the last two decades, there has been a lot of talk about the
transformative power of technology in society, yet little attention has been
paid to an emerging digital gap.</span></p><span>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: rgb(30, 30, 30); line-height: 115%; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><img width="443" height="293" tabindex="-1" style="border-width: 0px; width: 680px;" src="cid:02CC2330C0564741AD7B4089C76955CE@homevnanvgtlek" data-ms-imgsrc="cid:02CC2330C0564741AD7B4089C76955CE@homevnanvgtlek"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: rgb(30, 30, 30); line-height: 115%; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">Nearly 45 percent
fewer women than men have access to the Internet in sub-Saharan Africa
[Reuters]</font></span></p><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"></span></span>
<p><span>In its report, "<a class="internallink" href="http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/publications/mis2013/MIS2013_Flyer.pdf" target="_parent"><span>Measuring the information Society 2013</span></a>", the
International Telecommunication Union estimated that by the end of 2013, 2.7bn
people (40 percent of the world's inhabitants) were using the
Internet.</span></p>
<p><span>However, men are twice more likely to have access to the Internet than
women. According to Intel's report <a class="internallink" href="http://dalberg.com/documents/Women_Web.pdf" target="_parent"><span>Women and
the Web</span></a>: "on average across the developing world, nearly 25 percent
fewer women than men have access to the Internet, and the gender gap soars to
nearly 45 percent in regions like sub-Saharan Africa."</span></p>
<p><span>Though Africa has recently seen rapid growth in Internet access, women
are vastly underrepresented in technology. The rise of cybercafes has benefited
men more than women because boys and men have more freedom of movement to get to
the cafes and have more access to make and spend money at them.</span></p>
<p><span>Furthermore, there is a disturbing trend of cyberbullying experienced
by young women. They also find it difficult to access technology because of
cultural restrictions and their lower status in society. </span></p>
<p>Because women face barries such as poverty, illiteracy, and discrimination
when getting training and education, we are witnessing the rise of a second
digital divide.</p>
<p><span>It is important to understand that technology and access to the
Internet is essential to women's empowerment across the continent and it is key
to overcoming these barriers in the first place.</span></p>
<p><strong><span>A step towards equality</span></strong></p>
<p><span>Gender inequality remains deeply entrenched in many African societies.
Many women and girls still do not have equal opportunities despite this being
enshrined in the law. Yet </span>Information and communication technologies
are important tools for advancing gender equality, women and girl's empowerment,
and a more equitable and prosperous world.</p>
<p><span></span></p>
<p>Becoming technologically skilled can play a major role in gettting jobs,
being competitive in the job market and enable these women to pull themselves
out of poverty.It is clear that if this group is ignored, problems such as
economic dependency, violence against women, and low self-esteem will continue
to be perpetuated.</p>
<p><span>Access to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) can be
essential for women entrepreneurs in starting and growing a business and
overcoming barriers they face. A recent project by the United Nations and the
International Labour Organization helped women in Tanzania use ICT to develop
businesses. Beneficiaries of the project have <a class="internallink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfhWT6M-S7o" target="_parent"><span>described</span></a> how something as simple as owning a
mobile phone can help promote a grocery business and attract more clients.
Access to the Internet can help sell handicraft products abroad.
</span></p>
<p><span>In Zambia, ICT <a class="internallink" href="http://womennewsnetwork.net/2013/04/12/zambian-teens-twitter-and-facebook/" target="_parent"><span>has been used</span></a> in the fight against gender-based
violence (GBV). Organisations combating violence against women have used social
media to help raise awareness and educate the public about GBV. Access to social
media is a particularly effective way to reach youth and mobilise them on a
grassroots level in campaigns against GBV.</span></p>
<p><span>ICT can also allow grassroots women's movements to organise public
actions and reach out across borders to mobilise international support. Thus,
thanks to the power of the Internet, a new wave of activism has emerged through
social media. One recent case that illustrates this phenomenon is the
international mobilisation around Boko Haram's kidnapping of school girls in
Nigeria. Across the continent, women's groups mobilised on social media through
the hashtag <a class="internallink" href="http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/the-bring-back-our-girls-campaign-is-working-boko-haram-should-be-scared-of-a-hashtag-9360830.html" target="_parent"><span>#BringBackOurGirls</span></a> to campaign for the release of
the schoolgirls.</span></p>
<p><span>ICT has been the focus of many empowerment organisations for women
across the continent as well. At <a class="internallink" href="http://www.makeeverywomancount.org/" target="_parent"><span>Make Every Woman
Count (MEWC)</span></a> we believe that ICT is essential not only for our
organisation to monitor women's political empowerment. It is also an important
tool to train women with so that they are able to access the political arena
more easily.</span></p>
<p><span>As an advocacy method, ICT can help empower African women to demand
true reform that will bridge the gap between their legal rights and their
enforcement. It gives women the opportunity to communicate their needs in their
own ways, in real time and on a massive scale. Online technology also offers
anonymity, which is absolutely essential when speaking out on sensitive issues
might endanger a woman's safety. ICT is a limitless platform for women's
grassroots organisations so they have a collective voice in public, thus
enabling them to make their voices heard more clearly. </span></p>
<p><span>Without access to ICT, women are at greater risk of being left behind
as agents of change and leaders in a rapidly changing global society. We must
ensure that women, as well as men, at all social levels and in all countries,
can access and use such technology.</span></p>
<p><span>Girls and women must be supported in becoming technogolically
competitive and they must gain proper understanding of how to use it safely and
effectively. With Africa's growing youth population and increasing competition
for jobs and other opportunities, addressing these issues is imperative in any
effort to promote women's employability and financial
independence.</span></p></div>
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