ICTs as Tools For Rural Women's Empowerment
[Africa-Uganda]
Organization Name: Isis-Women’s International Cross Cultural Exchange (Isis-WICCE)
Contact Person: Juliet Were
Type of ICT Initiative: Telecentre
Project Background
Communication is ‘a social process, designed to seek a common understanding among all the participants of a development initiative, creating a basis for concerted action.’ Information and communication technology are therefore useful tools for facilitating this process, but should not be considered as an end in themselves.
For communication to give a voice to rural women, they need to have access to communication channels and media that are relevant to their situations and needs.
Isis-Women’s International Cross Cultural Exchange (Isis-WICCE) is an action-oriented women’s resource centre that was established in 1974 with the aim of strengthening mechanisms in communication technology among women organisations worldwide, enabling women to share information, ideas and experiences in order to improve their status and overcome gender inequality. In 1993, Isis-WICCE relocated to Africa from Europe with an objective of developing relevant, efficient and effective mechanisms of generating and disseminating information about women in Africa, in order to make their issues visible to the global debates and agenda.
Isis-WICCE envisions an informed society that values and ensures women’s rights, and promotes the full realisation of their capacities and potential. It is from this background that Isis-WICCE after its relocation to Uganda, and in recognising the diversity of women’s information needs especially in rural areas developed rural women’s information units.
In November 2002, Isis-WICCE was among the six organisations selected to test the Gender Evaluation Methodology (GEM) in Africa. The ICT initiative that Isis-WICCE identified for evaluation was the Mubende Rural Women’s Information Unit.
Background of Rural Women’s Information Units in Uganda
The 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action called for the empowerment of women by enhancing their skills, knowledge and access to information and communication technology as a way of strengthening their ability to combat negative portrayals of women and challenge instances of abuse of power. Isis-WICCE in response to this call set up rural women’s information units in three districts in Uganda (Mubende, Iganga and Luweero), to enable women leaders at the grassroots to have a central place where they could meet and acquire skills in generating, processing and disseminating information of concern to women’s issues, using different means of communication.
The Information Units utilise both old and new information and communication technologies, which include drama, radio, tape recorders, mobile telephones, television, photocopier, computer and video to generate, process and disseminate information within the communities. The unit targets women leaders at the local level and one of the women leaders serves as a volunteer in charge of the unit.
Mubende Rural Women’s Information Unit
Mubende Rural Women’s Information Unit was set up in 1998 in conjunction with Buwekula Women’s Development Association (BWDA), a community-based organisation in Buwekula Sub-County in Mubende district. BWDA was founded in 1992 after realising that the rate of poverty in the sub-county was due to lack of relevant information, knowledge, skills and capital to invest in viable projects. The group carries out the following activities: local revolving loans scheme, HIV/AIDs awareness and prevention, skills building, sustainable agriculture, women’s rights awareness, and the nutrition and early childhood project.
Buwekula Women’s Development Association has successfully utilised the ICTs available in the unit in implementing the above-mentioned activities. It is from this background that Isis-WICCE identified Mubende Rural Women’s Information Unit for the GEM evaluation: unique by using various technologies and rural-based.
Setting Objectives
The objectives of carrying out an evaluation of the Mubende Rural Women’s Information Unit were:- To document the best practices of women leaders in using ICTs
- To identify areas for strengthening the capability of women leaders through the use of ICTs
Gender and ICT Issues
- Availability and accessibility of ICTs to women leaders
- Usefulness of the available ICTs to women’s day to day activities
- Extent to which the available ICTs are being utilised by women leaders
Formulating Evaluation Questions
The general evaluation questions were:- To assess how the services have enhanced women leaders in addressing issues concerning women in the community.
- To assess the performance of the unit in the fulfillment of the project objectives
- To assess how the women leaders have utilised the information unit in addressing women’s concerns
- To highlight the unique values ICTs have added to empowering women
- To identify project areas that need strengthening
Setting Indicators
Isis-WICCE identified gender and ICT indicators according to the questions the evaluation sought to address:- How have the ICTs assisted women leaders in addressing women’s issues?
- Number of women leaders using ICTs to address women’s issues
- Number of cases documented using ICTs (quantitative)
- Number. of women in the community using their information unit
- Increased participation of women leaders in debates (qualitative)
- Policy change to address women’s rights issues (qualitative)
- Is the information disseminated relevant to the needs of women?
- Issues covered in the drama/video shows (quantitative)
- Number of women who have utilized information in their day to day activities
Identifying Stakeholders/Evaluation Team
The evaluation team consisted of the following:| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Ruth Ojiambo Ochieng | Director/Information & Documentation Coordinator |
| Jessica B. Nkuuhe | Associate Director/Exchange Programme Coordinator |
| Juliet Were Oguttu | Asst. Programme Officer Information and Documentation |
| Harriet Nabukeera Musoke | Asst. Programme Officer Exchange Programme |
| Jimmy Mukasa | Finance Officer |
| Hawa Semakula | Field Coordinator |
Collecting Quantitative Indicators
- Questionnaire
The Isis-WICCE team developed a questionnaire that was shared with the Mubende women leaders, and later translated into Luganda (the area’s local language). - Field Data Collection
The data collection was carried out from October 13–18, 2003.
ICTs used by women leaders
The evaluation revealed that 33% of the respondents used drama, 16% mobile telephone, TV/video 15%, tape recorder 4%, radio 2%, camera 1%, landline telephone 0%, and 29% person to person (this includes seminars, women’s group meetings, local council meetings, church announcements, physical visits like door to door, letter writing and other social gatherings) forms of communication.
The respondents indicated that drama was the most effective ICT tool as indicated below:
“My husband and I attended a drama show on inheritance and will writing. When we went back home, my husband wrote his will and apportioned his property using the guidelines stated on the form and kept it with his close friend. A year later, he died. His brothers and relatives were ready to grab property but at the burial, the will was read and I was very happy. Nobody dared to take any single property.”
Other individual women who had utilised the telephone and video also found it very effective:
“My child who had been selected for a job interview would have missed the interview if I did not have a mobile phone. One of my friends in Kampala called me to inform me of the date, which was the next day… She sat [at] the interview and came out as the best and was given the job. The letter inviting her for the job interview reached Mubende after two weeks.”
However, much as the use of mobile telephones, video, tape recorder, radio and camera were low (below 16%), the women had a high level of understanding that these tools were very effective if they had access as narrated by the respondents below:
“If all women had telephones, my work as a leader would be very efficient and effective. However, the women cannot afford it.”
“Telephone is good for immediate action especially on domestic violence and girl-child marriages. If I had a telephone and learnt that a girl-child was being married off, I would call the law enforcement officers to come and arrest the parents without the members of the community knowing that I was the one who alerted the police.”
“I have realised that a tape recorder is a very important tool if I had one. I have been getting a lot of testimonies which I should have recorded and used to take action.”
“Much as I have no access, I know that a computer is faster.”
Training
The findings revealed that 95% of the women had not acquired any formal training in the use of various ICTs. Most of them received a few hours of instruction upon purchase of for example a telephone, radio, tape recorder, and television sets. Those who received training in drama took it for a very short period of one week while the training for using computers ranged from two weeks to one month. However, because of infrequent use of computers, most of the women admitted their skills have declined. The graph below gives a reflection of trained women in the use of ICTs.
Illiteracy
The findings indicated that 56% of the women interviewed had attained some education up to the primary level; 20% up to ‘O’ Level (Senior 4 of Secondary education) and 24% had attained a diploma or university degree. This is a true reflection of the high level of illiteracy among women in Uganda (59.1% compared to 29.5% for men). Rural women and girls have limited access to formal education due to social, cultural and economic factors that have continued to undermine their status compared to that of men in terms of acquisition of means of communication and access to communication tools. This has therefore had a negative impact on women’s access to, and affordability and control of ICT equipment. Even where efforts to translate information to the different languages have been made, some women cannot read or understand them. One must therefore find ways of explaining the contents to everybody, which is almost an impossible exercise.
Finding Qualitative Information
Reconnaissance VisitA reconnaissance visit to Mubende was done on September 16 and 17, 2003. The visits were meant:
- To meet with a cross section of women leaders from Buwekuula Women’s Development Association and introduce the proposed evaluation
- To discuss various issues relevant to the evaluation such as identification of the interviewees and drawing up a plan for the evaluation exercise
- To explain the details of the evaluation to the volunteer in charge of the information unit
Selection of Interviewees
The interviewees were purposefully selected. They included women leaders who had access to ICTs both from the units and outside the units, and those who did not have access. The objective was to use the group that had no access to ICTs as a control group to measure the level of empowerment among those who used ICTs in their day to day activities.
Female Case Studies
The individual questionnaire was administered to 15 female case studies.
Informants
Five individual males were interviewed as a control group to justify the impact ICTs may have to the empowerment of women.
Focus-Group Discussion
One focus-group discussion was held with members of Buwekula Women Development Association.
FINDINGS SUMMARY
Information and Communication is key to empowering women in all aspects and therefore ICTs are a means of enhancing this process. Given that women and men play different roles, communication strategies and tools need to reflect their diverse needs and priorities.
The findings of this evaluation revealed that ICTs can give rural women a voice to advocate for change in policies, attitudes and social behaviour or customs that negatively affect them. The findings also revealed that these tools can help women exchange experiences and learn from each other, find common ground for decisions, take more control of their lives and add value to their role as active partners in rural and sustainable development.
It was also observed that ICTs do promote changes in attitudes and social behaviour and help communities to identify sustainable opportunities and development solutions that are within their reach.
Women’s Information Needs
The information needs of the women leaders compared to those of ordinary women in the community did not vary much. They indicated need for information on improved farming methods, women’s rights, women’s sexual and reproductive health, access to credit, child rights and health, communication and leadership skills, management of women’s groups, home care, relationships, counseling, and women’s legal rights.
Information Dissemination and Collection
For generations, rural populations living in isolated villages without access to modern technologies have relied on the spoken word and traditional means of communication as a means of generating information and sharing knowledge. For women who could not read or write in particular, information exchange solely depended on local festivities and faith-based institutions to access and disseminate information.
The findings revealed that women leaders mainly used drama and person-to-person form of communication in disseminating and collecting information on issues of concern to women. The person-to-person form of communication, which included letter writing, local council meetings, women’s group meetings and physical visits like door-to-door, among others is still prevalent. This is attributed to the fact that these women do not have access to communication technologies. Women leaders further revealed that this form of communication has advantages and disadvantages as explained below:
Advantages of Person-to-Person Communication“I was able to meet other women in our group meetings and learnt that women can work together. This has built my self-esteem and I have been able to take on other leadership roles.’
Imelda Namusisi“Seminars have enabled me to change the way I do things. I have acquired leadership skills and have been able to share information with fellow women in my community. I am able to plan for my time effectively. Those days I would wake up without a plan on what to do.”
Robinah SebunyaDisadvantages of Person-to-Person communication
“It is very difficult to distribute letters when you do not have transport. Most times you send the letters using individuals and the letters may never reach the intended recipient. So there is a breakdown in communication and it is quite cumbersome.”
Filomenna Nantumbwe“The bureaucracy in calling a Local Council Meeting is cumbersome. You have to write a letter to the Chairperson who then circulates it to members to seek their approval of date and time. By the time this process is finalised, the issue that needed to be discussed has been overtaken by events. It is very unfriendly especially when advocating for women’s rights related issues that need immediate action.”
Florence Nakimuli
Level of Empowerment
The level of empowerment gained varied from one woman leader to another and depended on the type of tool used. Below are some of the extracts on how the ICTs made an impact on the lives of the women leaders and the women in the communities.
Breaking Isolation
“The drama has enabled me to break the isolation among women who never wanted to attend any meetings out of their homes. Drama attracts them as entertainment. I use this opportunity to give them educative talks and encourage them to attend meetings. They are now very active in meetings.”
Nakabiri RobinahAnother woman leader had this to say:
“Through drama I have been able to visit women in other communities when we go to act. It has also given me the confidence to speak in public and build my self esteem.”
Mrs Sebunya Robinah“Seminars have enabled women to appreciate that the problems they experience do not affect them alone. They now willingly take on advise from leaders and work towards improving their situation. For those who were initially negative to attending seminars, they have also started attending after realising the value added to those who attend.”
Legal Redress
One woman leader indicated how a tape recorder had enabled her to access legal redress:
“One day a young man stool [stole] my cows. This man kept on informing his friends that nobody could be able to know that he was the thief and keep track of him. This information was passed over to me by one of his friends. I convinced the friend to go with my small tape recorder and record the information related to the theft. The friend put the tape recorder in his coat and the thief started talking about the incident and all the proceedings were recorded. So I went to the police and reported the case. When I was asked for evidence I produced my tape and the boy was arrested. He confessed, was charged and agreed to pay back my cows which he has already done.”
Sheba KanyesigyeMobilisation
“Drama has enabled me to mobilise more women and men to brainstorm on issues of concern in the community and come up with ways of addressing the concerns. It has enabled me to be visible and to prove that I have the capacity of working with women.”
Olive NakatteEconomic Empowerment
Women leaders testified to have been empowered economically:
“I am able to contribute to the welfare of the home because whenever I act in a drama play, I get some financial remuneration. I am now able to pay school fees for my children."
Dorothy Muwanguzi“The women have been challenged to start various activities like poultry and cattle keeping after listening to various programmes on radio on how women in other areas have advanced. They have also opened up small kiosks and shops in the villages and the township.”
Aisha Nabagala Senyonjo“Seminars on self development have encouraged women to start small income generating initiatives e.g. goat keeping and a spirit of forced saving.”
Kyagaba Jane
Women’s Rights Issues
The tape recorder, camera, and drama became crucial and significant in addressing women’s rights issues. The women leaders testified the impact these tools had helped in their lives:
“Last year around November, I used the tape recorder to record a domestic violence case and a camera to get the picture of the assaulted woman. The evidence was so clear, the husband was arrested and imprisoned. The husband confessed and apologised and was later released. For purposes of harmony in the family, the Community Development Officer took up the case and counseled the family. Both husband and wife are now settled and have not had any other case since then. In addition, the outcomes of the various cases recorded using the tape recorder have attracted women to approach me and speak about their problems. I also use these facts for advocacy.”
“Drama has enabled women to relate the play to their day to day issues in their community. Initially, women did not know that they could report cases to the police without paying any money. Through drama and the discussions that follow, women raised questions on the procedures and got the right information. This rebuilt their confidence and they can now approach the police.”
Security
The use of a telephone enabled a woman leader to mobilise security for her village. Below is her brief account:
”One night, armed robbers attacked my home village and one of the local leaders rang me on my mobile phone. I contacted the police commander at the district headquarters and he deployed security men who arrived in time and arrested the armed robbers. I was very happy that action had been taken immediately and the property and lives of the women and men in my village were saved.”
Raising Awareness
“The computer has enabled me to access information on the internet on what other female youth in other countries are involved in. The new ideas I have acquired have enabled me to initiate similar projects in my community.”
“I am able to us a computer to produce small posters and announcements, which are hanged in various venues to inform women and men.”
“I watched a video tape on HIV/AIDs and was able to see and learn how it is transmitted. Since then I am conscious about my conduct and those in my family.”
“Television provides me with information about appropriate networks to access services and knowledge about women’s empowerment.”
“Drama enabled me to understand that the girl-child can still be taken back to school even after getting pregnant. When my daughter became pregnant, I was able to nurse her after giving birth. I sent her back to school.”
Another woman leader had this to say:
“I enjoy drama as a form of entertainment but it brings out the issues in the community. For example I grew up in a home where domestic violence was inexistent and since I got married I have never experienced this violence. Through drama, I have been able to know and appreciate the problems women encounter in their homes and as a leader find ways of addressing this problem.”
Building Self-confidence
The use of a tape recorder and drama boosted the confidence of women leaders, encouraging them to accomplish more. Below are their stories:
“We attended a training session on HIV/AIDs prevention, which was recorded using a tape recorder. After the session, the recording was played and we were able to hear our voices. When I listened to myself speaking, I realised that I was a very good speaker and this gave me the confidence to later speak to even bigger forums. I currently encourage women to speak and tell them that they have equally the same potential as men.”
“Drama has enabled me to get information on a number of issues. The fact that my husband is also present at these shows makes him understand issues without me having to fear on how I will present them to him. I can now confidently present issues to my husband and this has created harmony and a spirit of consultation in the home.”
Freedom to participate
One woman leader testified that women were at liberty to leave their houses to watch drama shows since these are staged at the local village.
“Women do not need to ask for permission to attend drama shows and therefore many of them are able to participate. Drama takes a shorter time compared to seminars and there is no need to give transport refunds and meals. Drama goes to the people instead of them moving out of their homes distances away which may cause violence in the home.”
Visibility
Another respondent had this to say:
“We, as Buwekula Women’s Development Association are now more visible especially after Isis-WICCE setting up the information unit than we used to be before 1998. The various ICTs that we have used especially the tape recorder and drama has made the association to be recognised as a strong women’s rights advocacy group because of the actions we have taken. We have also been able to get new partners who have supported by providing us with a computer and photocopier, which we use to raise some income to support the operations of the office. Recently, another partner gave us hybrid goats, which we have distributed to members of the association as an income generating project.”
CHALLENGES encountered in using the ICTs
Despite the benefits and advantages the women attributed to using ICTs, respondents also shared some of the challenges they had to face:Affordability
All ICTs (new and old), are very expensive to acquire and maintain, e.g. a mobile telephone requires airtime and monthly rental fees. Drama also entails a lot of expenses, i.e., training, transport for actors, costumes, recording, etc. For women who do not have a steady form of income and must attend to many other priorities, acquiring communication tools and equipment hardly figure in their priority list.
Accessibility
Women leaders have limited or no access to equipment they need. For instance, the rural women’s information unit has only one tape recorder, television and video set with a small screen, but no video camera. It therefore becomes very difficult for several women leaders to use the necessary equipment when they need it.
Women said that even in homes with radios, men tend to dominate its use:
“We have a radio, but it is my husband who controls its use. He tunes the stations that are his priority and even moves with it wherever he goes. I rarely get any opportunity to listen to the educational programmes for women. I tried to buy myself a small radio but most of the time I do not have cells.”
Kalulu JanetIt was also noted that access to paper for letter writing could be quite difficult at times, making letter writing too much of a bother.
Poverty
The financial base of women is very low since they do not have income generating projects. This has made it almost impossible for them to buy electronic or other equipment used for communication.
Content
The women leaders also noted that the lack of information that relates to their day-to-day concerns as women poses as a challenge, too.
Skills
Women lack the knowledge and training on how to operate the tools and how to use them effectively in their daily activities.
Coverage
The areas of operation the women leaders are required to serve are quite broad and yet they lack adequate facilities to supplement their transport expenses.
Lack of Government Support
Much as the district administration1 has highlighted a number of activities directed to gender sensitivity and advocacy for the rights of women and girls, government has failed to fund these activities. This leaves women uninformed about issues that would enlighten them.
Poor Programming
The liberalisation of the media has led to a mushrooming of local community radio stations (FM radio transmitters). In 1998, Mubende could only access the government- owned radio – Radio Uganda. Today, reception reaches five FM stations, which broadcast both in English and Luganda (local language). Each radio station presents programmes that would benefit women at different hours of the day. But the programmes are not announced properly. The women then miss out on the good programmes.
Human Resource
The rural women’s information unit has only one volunteer who manages the unit. She cannot therefore be able to analyse and synthesise all the information collected in time to share with other networks.
Infrastructure
Majority of the rural areas, Mubende included, do not have access to electricity, which is a major prerequisite in most of ICTs. Electricity is only available in the towns, but majority of the women are live in rural areas. In addition, the women still have a problem in accessing resources that will enable them to hire generators to stage video shows in their villages. In addition, much as Mubende has a good telephone reception network, not all the villages can access the network. Worse still, in some of the villages that enjoy a full network, the transport facilities are very poor and therefore potential service providers are not attracted to the area as testified by a woman leader below:
“Butologo where I come from is (a)30-minute drive from the main trading centre. However, the roads are very bad that it takes me three hours on a motorcycle to reach this place. There is only one car which leaves in the morning and returns late in the evening. This village has full network reception but there is no single telephone booth.”
Bahemuka JussyA few women have tried to acquire small radios for their own use but the reception, at times is very poor.
Incorporating Learning into Organisational Work
The women leaders interviewed proposed a number of recommendations which if addressed would enable them to benefit using ICTs for their empowerment. Below are the recommendations that are relevant to Isis-WICCE's ongoing work in gender and ICT:-
Skill Building
Special training to enable women acquire skills in operating telephones, tape recorders, video cameras, use of drama and computers as tools for income generation and women’s rights awareness among others is required.Adult literacy classes to enable women learn reading and writing are much needed. These should be conducted hand-in-hand with exchange visits to enable women to learn from others.
- Human Resource
There is a need for a full-time personnel to manage the rural women’s information unit in Mubende. - Accessibility
Women leaders need auxillary support (for example, network, support groups) to acquire equipment and tools at a group or sub-county level. The equipment should also be controlled by the women themselves.
Informing Gender and ICT Advocacy
Multi-purpose Information CentreA full-fledged women’s rural information centre, complete with the necessary and appropriate equipment, training and packaging facilities should be set up at each sub- county. The centre should also have a community radio, trained human resource and transport facilities in place.
Electricity
Women should be trained how to generate electricity through the use of biogas. Car batteries and generators should be available for their use in order to operate their equipment at any point of place in their communities.
Access to Credit
Credit facilities should waive the interest rate for these centres and give a longer repayment period to enable women leaders to access credit and buy appropriate equipment for use in their different activities.
Transportation
Motorcycles and bicycles should be provided to women leaders to facilitate their mobility.
Repackaging
Women need facilities to record (audio and video) their activities, especially their drama presentations. These taped recordings can be easily disseminated to other areas and can be used for raising awareness, training and generating income.
There is also a need for government and NGOs to identify specific programmes for women that integrate the use of ICTs. Information should also be packaged in simple formats and in a language that can be easily understood.
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