Feminist talk

[COLUMN] Access and Beyond (5): How do we address the gender question?

Posted Thu 17 Aug 2017 - 03:59 | 6,136 views
In this last column by Chenai Chair following the gender implications of the research by Research ICT Africa on access, she explores how researchers and activists can proactively explore gender dimensions. Even as ITU figures point to a progressively increasing gender digital divide, there are steps to take to understand and address this divide.

Feminist talk

What do women’s rights have to do with the SDGs and the Internet?

Posted Tue 1 Aug 2017 - 00:31 | 5,968 views
The sustainable development goals explicitly mention gender equality, yet how will this be achieved and how is this linked to the potentially transformative role that ICTs could play. If the SDGs are going to use ICTs as a vehicle to achieve the goals then we need to use an intersectional and multi-pronged approach to ensure that women, girls and other marginalized groups are not left behind.

Feminist talk

[COLUMN] Access and beyond (4): Gendered barriers to internet use

Posted Fri 14 Jul 2017 - 03:53 | 7,022 views
Gendered barriers to internet access can range from social and cultural barriers imposed within family or by partners to extraneous factors relevant to all - such as affordability of data and devices. In this column Chenai Chair examines the specificity of how access is different for women and men.

Feminist talk

Framing access and power at Stockholm Internet Forum 2017

Posted Thu 22 Jun 2017 - 05:46 | 6,572 views
The Stockholm Internet Forum 2017 focused their discussions on the links between access and power. In this article Shaikh Rafia Sarwar examines how access is linked to women's empowerment and particularly their economic empowerment. And whether the debate around access should focus on economic, cultural and social empowerment of women through and outside technology, rather than ensuring access to…

Feminist talk

[COLUMN] Access and Beyond (3): Navigating mobile costs in communication

Posted Thu 15 Jun 2017 - 11:38 | 6,799 views
Africa is flooded with zero rating services such as Free Basics (Facebook’s zero rating scheme) and other subsidised data strategies. Do these schemes make internet more affordable and bring access to more people? In this column Chenai Chair examines whether ordinary people perceive such schemes as useful.

Feminist talk

Tackling the gender digital divide in Africa

Posted Thu 1 Jun 2017 - 03:49 | 7,171 views
The coming of the digital age and of information technology promises that those 'left out' or excluded from development will be to access their rights and enjoy a higher standard of living. But what is the truth for African women - are the experiences of all 'marginal' women being lumped together and how far away is the promise of equal access and gender equity.

Feminist talk

[COLUMN] Access and Beyond (2): Motivations for internet use

Posted Thu 11 May 2017 - 03:32 | 6,858 views
In this column, Chenai Chair explores motivations of internet use through the ResearchICT Africa study in Rwanda, Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. Business, local and global communication, social ties, and curiosity seem to be the main motivators. By understanding why people go online, we can better shape interventions for a connected society.

Feminist talk

[COLUMN] Access and beyond (1): Navigating the gendered cyberspace

Posted Wed 12 Apr 2017 - 05:18 | 5,919 views

In this column series, Chenai Chair explores the barriers to accessing the internet in four countries in Africa - Rwanda, Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya. The study in particular looks at the impact of affordability of internet and subsidised data services, and what impact this has on people in different locations (countries, urban-rural), of different genders, and so on. In the first column,…

Publication

Internet use barriers and user strategies: perspectives from Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Rwanda

Posted Tue 28 Mar 2017 - 08:27 | 7,094 views
The introduction of OTT services that replace regular messaging applications in built into a phone, definitely has an impact on internet use. OTT services have become the main entry point to the Internet for most users in the prepaid mobile environment that characterises most African markets. This comparative country study, based on focus groups conducted in November 2016 in Kenya, Nigeria,…

Feminist talk

The backbone of our thirsty complicities: from internet hiccups to collective synapsis at AWID 2016

Posted Wed 5 Oct 2016 - 07:31 | 12,696 views
Not being able to connect online has geopolitical and infrastructural dimensions. On the one hand, we face the challenge to defend internet as a common good, beyond the claws of Capitalism and Patriarchy; on the other hand, we encounter the possibility of creating and engaging in other landscapes. Bringing to life places (though sometimes ephemeral) like the Feminist Internet Exchange FixHub in…