PULA NO. 4: MAY 2004
A Newsletter on Women and ICTs in Africa
Newsletter of the Association for Progressive Communications Africa Women (APC-Africa-Women) Pula aims to promote and profile the work and activities of women's ICT initiatives in Africa and to act as a communicative tool to link women to each other.
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CONTENTS
1. Editorial
2. Who produces Pula?
3. Our Voices: Stories from the field
4. Profile of an ICT Champion
5. Policy Focus
6. News and Events
7. Resources
8. World Corner: Global News
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1. EDITORIAL
Welcome to the fourth edition of Pula! In this edition "Our Voices: Stories from the field" focuses on women in situations of armed conflict. In our regular women and ICT policy column APC's Alice Munyua looks at trafficking, pornography and censorship. Sara Hlupekile Longwe, founder of the Zambia Association for Research and Development is our ICT Champion. In our Events, Resources and World Corner sections, you'll find information of interest to African women using ICTs.
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2. WHO PRODUCES PULA?
http://www.apcafricawomen.org
Pula is produced by APC-Africa-Women - a network of organisations and individuals that work to empower African women's organisations to access and use information and communication technologies (ICTs) for equality and development. APC-Africa-Women is the Africa regional programme of the Association for Progressive Communication's Women's Networking Support Programme (APC WNSP).
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3. OUR VOICES: STORIES FROM THE FIELD
Documenting experiences of women in situations of armed conflict, Uganda
Isis-Women's International Cross Cultural Exchange (Isis-WICCE) was the winner of the Gender and ICT Award presented by GKP and APC WNSP in the category "National and Local Outstanding Multi-stakeholder Initiatives".
The winning initiative focuses on recording and telling the little-known stories of women in situations of armed conflict in Uganda and other African nations. Since 1997, Isis-WICCE has documented the experiences of women in such situations in 10 countries in Africa through its networks.
From the organisation's initial survey, it was clear that very little was actually known about women's experiences in situations of armed conflict in Uganda, let alone Africa and hence the decision to focus on *documentation*. And so the project was born with a major focus on highlighting women's experiences, the roles they play, the effects on them and how they cope when the conflict is over.
Choosing the right ICTs to document women's experience
ICTs can only be relevant to the targeted communities if the approach used takes into consideration the needs and problems of the communities. The documentation of women's realities in situations of armed conflict analyses the root causes of conflict in Uganda, highlights the effects of the conflict on women and the coping mechanisms of women in post-conflict situations.
The use of different tools i.e. audio recording, video recording, photography and print takes into consideration the needs of the targeted communities and how they can access information despite differences in literacy levels. Given that the documentation process is intended for raising awareness and for lobbying and advocacy, it ensures the women war survivors can speak out about their experiences and make recommendations. Face-to-face interaction through meetings, focus group discussions and validation workshops is also essential.
Video allowed women to value themselves more
The process of documenting their realities gave the women involved in the project an opportunity to share their experiences which contributed to the healing process. Video in particular proved to be a helpful communication tool in allowing the women to regain their confidence. Seeing themselves speaking on video, many women were able to appreciate that they are still of value to society despite their terrible experiences.
The findings provide a powerful acknowledgement of the ordeal of conflict as experienced by women which is normally underrated in post-conflict situations. It also highlights the zeal of women and therefore the potential they have in the peace-building process. More than 1000 video documentaries have been distributed to partners and development actors internationally and have been used in training workshops and for sensitisation. Since the project has finished, one of Isis-WICCE's collaborating partners - the African Psycare Research - has continued working on the issue of trauma among war-affected communities.
Significantly, with the help of ISIS-WICCE, by using the findings as a tool for advocacy, women war survivors in study areas in Uganda have been able to obtain various types of assistance including medical treatment, improvement of shelter, capital for small-scale income-generating activities and training for women leaders. Rural women's information units were set up as spaces where women leaders could meet face-to-face and discuss issues affecting women in their communities as well as access literature online.
To read more about Isis-WICCE prize-winning project go to:
http://www.genderawards.net/winners/wicce.shtml
For more information on Isis-WICCE go to:
http://www.isis.or.ug
For more information on the GKP-APC WNSP Gender and ICT Awards to go:
http://www.genderawards.net
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4. PROFILE OF AN ICT CHAMPION
Sara Hlupekile Longwe is a Zambian, a grassroots mobiliser, critic and author of the Longwe Framework for Gender Analysis. She has contributed greatly towards the women's movement in Africa, as well as to the feminist movement globally. She sees herself as a radical feminist activist and she believes that ICTs can be used to win gender struggles in Africa.
"The majority of the population in the rural areas are women and they have a smaller chance of having access to new technologies. Looking at Africa, ICTs can be used to fight these technology-related gender imbalances," said Sara in an interview with ENAWA in December 2003. One of the gender and ICT issues that Sara considers important is that of infrastructure that contributes to the huge gender gap existing in access to communication in Africa. If the technology is not available it cannot be used.
She was recently awarded the 2003 Africa Prize for Leadership. This annual award of the Hunger Project recognizes the "vital importance of emerging women's leadership for a new future for Africa". Her articles and gender framework were read worldwide once e-mail and websites started being used for feminist activism. "Without these new technologies I could not have been picked for the Hunger Project award since people could not see my work for themselves," Sara observed.
Sara has been rooted in the struggle for gender justice for many years.
In 1984, she was a founding member of the Zambia Association for Research and Development (ZARD), which was instrumental in pushing the government to ratify the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Sara is involved in many communication initiatives that recognise the importance of ICTs for improving the lives of women in Africa. For six years, she was chair of FEMNET, the African Women's Development and Communications Network. Established in 1988, FEMNET aims to strengthen the role and contribution of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) focusing on women's development, equality and rights, and to provide an infrastructure for information and empowerment. Sara was also a prime force behind the Flame network of African sisters online committed to strengthening the capacity of women through the use of ICTs to lobby, advocate and participate in the Beijing +5 process regionally and globally.
Nowadays, Sara is part of a recently-formed network called GRACE - Gender Research in Africa on ICTs for Empowerment. This project will explore the question of how the lives of African women are being transformed by the use and appropriation of ICTs.
On a voluntary basis Sara coordinates the Southern Africa Social Forum, which held its first event in Lusaka, November 2003. Significantly, Sara mobilised the event solely through e-mails and a temporary website created with the assistance of the local chapter of One World (http://earth.hosting.com/sasf2003). This year Sara will be at the centre of the coordination of the Third African Social Forum to be hosted in Zambia, December 2004. One of the sub-themes will be African feminist perspectives. For the past four years Sara has been part of an international feminists dialogue that has been held at the World Social Forum, thanks to the fact that its main mobilising tool has been internet (e-mails, online-chats and websites).
"All communication facilities cost money and this is expensive in Africa. Operating from the business centres is expensive and when it involves paying for information access, women are less likely to be able to pay. I have access at my home and in my office. This has helped me manage to publicise my work." Sara believes it is crucial to make positive efforts and provide the necessary support to document the history of women using ICTs. She observes that local content on African women is missing. She encourages all efforts underway to document the experiences and realities of women in every region.
PULA salutes the work of Sara Hlupekile Longwe.
[Some references taken from an article by Brenda Zulu, ENAWA, December 2003. Full article at: http://www.enawa.org/scripts/wwwopac.exe?database=brief&%250=100485]
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5. POLICY FOCUS
In this edition of Pula, our regular policy focus column that looks at the major issues facing African women and their effective use of ICTs, our policy writer, Alice Munyua, explores the issues of trafficking, pornography and censorship online.
Paradoxically while the internet has proven to be an essential tool for global advocacy for ending violence against women and human rights abuses, it is also a medium through which prostitution and trafficking of women and girls is facilitated.
Commercial exploitation of women and children through the use of the internet and ICTs comprises one of the largest and most financially successful networked industries.
In 1995, an estimated 1.8 million women and girls were victims of illegal trafficking. Figures now show the number has increased to 4 million women and girls who are bought and sold worldwide either into forced prostitution, slavery or marriage.
(http://www.unfpa.org/gender/trafficking.htm).
In Africa, women are not only trafficked to Europe and the Middle East but also within the continent, the flow being determined by the demand by wealthier countries for sex workers coupled with the multiple social and economic crises and high levels of poverty in many African nations.
ICTs and trafficking
The internet can be used to commercially and violently exploit women and children, replicate and reproduce stereotypical and violent images of women and facilitate sex-trafficking of women as well as trafficking of people. The internet has offered traffickers new advantages such as providing the sex industry and individual users with new ways of finding, marketing and delivering women into conditions of sexual exploitation and modern day slavery.
The Council of Europe's February 2003 report on the use of new technologies for sex trafficking provides a comprehensive examination of the implications of the internet's capacity for locating, marketing and distributing women and children for sexual exploitation. Yet, even this 151-page document relies heavily on mostly anecdotal evidence, because no international research has been completed that addresses the uses of the internet for sexual exploitation. (Council of Europe, 15)
Conversely, there are many examples of activities which incorporate the power and strategic use of ICTs to combat the commercial exploitation of women and children, particularly with respect to using ICTs to document abuses, mount campaigns, even 'name and shame' perpetrators. Some interesting examples are highlighted by the Canadian WomenSpace project (http://www.womenspace.ca/policy/facts_trafficking.html)
Internet regulation must respect international human rights legislation
"Women and girls have a right to access online spaces where they can share sensitive information, exchange experiences, build solidarity, facilitate networking, develop campaigns and lobby more effectively. They have a right to a secure online environment where they are safe from harassment, enjoy freedom of expression and privacy of communication, and are protected from electronic surveillance and monitoring.
Policy and regulatory frameworks to address such use of the internet should be developed inclusively and transparently with all stakeholders, particularly women, and be based on the international human rights framework encompassing rights related to privacy and confidentiality, freedom of expression and opinion and other related rights." - From the 'APC WNSP Policy Guide for Gender and ICTs' (http://www.apcwomen.org/policy/resources/wnsp_policyguide.htm)
There is a need to understand that the internet is not creating *new forms* of crime against women and girls, but rather creating *new avenues* through which these crimes are perpetrated.
The APC WNSP policy guide highlights the danger of the development of new cooperation agreements and legislative frameworks to fight online trafficking, which breach *existing* human rights. Besides, says the APC WNSP Guide, the development of such agreements is almost exclusively carried out with little or no consultation with the people they deem to serve - women.
Lack of international, regional and national instruments and legislation is not the issue, it is the ratification, implementation and enforcement of existing instruments by all world governments, that needs to be prioritised.
As we strive for a more just and equitable world for all, we must be mindful of allowing legislation and regulation to be developed that could curtail other legal activities in an attempt to prevent certain crimes from being carried out online. Rather, we need to ensure that women and men are informed, made aware, included and consulted in the discussions and debates talking place around these trends and in the development of policy and practices that are advocated by state agencies and other bodies. There is also a need for self-determination and empowerment of communities and women in particular as we attempt to find alternatives to blanket censorship and surveillance.
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6. NEWS AND EVENTS
6.1. Networking for Change and Empowerment Forum: Catalysing a global gender and ICT advocacy movement
http://www.apcwomen.org/rio/index.htm -- APC WNSP [English]
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=18731 -- APCNews [English]
The Association for Progressive Communications Women's Networking Support Programme (APC WNSP) hosts this forum from 1-7 June 2004 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Forum will bring together many women and men that have worked in the gender and ICT area in the past decade and will provide a much-needed space to build on the momentum created during the first phase of the UN World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and plan for the second phase of WSIS and other ICT policy arena including the Beijing +10 process, the world and regional social forums and more.
6.2 Citoyennes africaines de la société de l'information ; manuel de première urgence à l'intention des décideur(e)s" est le titre du manuel de "Plaidoyer pour l'égalité de genre dans les politiques de TIC" qui sera bientôt publié par le Réseau Genre et TIC (ENDA-OSIRIS-ART). Préfacé par la Commission Economique des Nations Unes pour l'Afrique, il est produit avec le concours de Open Society Institute for West Africa (OSIWA, Dakar).
http://www.famafrique.org/regentic/accueil.html [French]
Le Réseau Genre et TIC est une initiative conjointe de l'organisation internationale ENDA (Environnement et Développement), de l'association OSIRIS (Observatoire sur les Systèmes d'Information, les Réseaux et les Inforoutes au Sénégal) et de l'ART (Agence de Régulation des Télécommunications). Le Projet "Plaidoyer pour l'égalité de genre dans les politiques de TIC" permettra de produire et diffuser un argumentaire simple, logique, solide et convainquant, afin de sensibiliser les organisations de femmes, les communautés et les décideurs sur la nécessité de prendre en compte la dimension genre dans l'élaboration des politiques de TIC. Le manuel permettra de mener des actions d'information et de sensibilisation auprès des décideurs politiques, des responsables des organisations de femmes, des médias et du grand public. C'est l'une des principales composantes du plan d'action du Réseau Genre et TIC dans la perspective de la seconde phase du Sommet Mondial sur la Société de l'Information (Tunis, 2005).
6.3. Global Junior Challenge - The Digital Youth Consortium announces the 2004 Global Junior Challenge
http://www.gjc.it/2004/index.asp [English]
A contest of projects pioneering the use of information and communication technologies in education and training. The intention of the award, dedicated to young people and to schools, is to identify and reward best practices in the use of new technologies in the education and training of young people. A pool of 30,000 euro is available to be awarded to projects from developing countries, as selected by an international jury. Projects will be judged in categories according to their user base. The participation deadline for the Global Junior Challenge is June 30, 2004. For more information contact
silvia@gjc.it
6.4. AISI Media Awards 2004 Extended Deadline for Applications
http://www.uneca.org/aisi/mediaaward.htm [English]
The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has extended the deadline for applications to the 2004 AISI Media Awards until 31 July 2004. The AISI Media Awards were introduced in 2003 to encourage more informed coverage of the information society and ICT for development issues in Africa as part of ECA's Information Society Outreach and Communication Programme. The Awards are aimed at individual, journalists and media institutions based in Africa that are "promoting journalism which contributes to a better understanding of the information society in Africa".
6.5. Women and ICT: Challenges and Opportunities on the Road to Tunis
2005 http://www.aitecafrica.com [English]
AITEC is calling for presentation proposals on poverty-alleviation through digital inclusion, enabling universal, sustainable, ubiquitous and affordable access of ICT by all. Proposals should include a short biography of the presenter, a synopsis and contact details. There are sponsorship opportunities available. Please contact Lesley Millar lesley@aitecafrica.com for details.
6.6. The WIELD 1st Annual African Women's Leadership Conference, Building Bridges: New Partnership for Transformational Leadership
http://www.wise-up.org [English]
An international leadership conference to promote women and girls'
inclusion and active participation in leadership in Africa and the African diaspora will be held in September 27-30, 2004 in Cape Town, South Africa. WIELD is issuing a call for papers to be presented at its upcoming 1st Annual African Women's Leadership Conference. Papers should be submitted to: WIELD Program Coordinator, Women's Initiative for Self-Empowerment (WISE) P.O. Box CT 5604, Cantonments, Accra, Ghana. Email: awlc2004@yahoo.com Tel: +233 21 781 003
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7. RESOURCES
7.1. Website - Connecting WSIS ICT Policy with Armed Conflict in the BPFA
http://www.genderit.org/meetingpoint1.shtml [English]
This information brief brings together the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA), with the recent 2003 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) policy-making process. Section 5 deals with connecting WSIS ICT Policy with Armed Conflict in the BPFA. Produced by the International Women's Tribune Centre as part of the efforts of the NGO Gender Strategies Working Group to engender the WSIS process.
7.2. Directory - New Global Directory of Women Leaders
http://www.learningpartnership.org/profiles [English]
Women's Learning Partnership (WLP) has launched a new online "Directory of Women Leaders from the Global South". Designed to be used as a resource and networking tool, the directory features biographical and professional profiles of women activists, policy-makers, scholars, and NGO leaders who have devoted their lives to supporting the advancement and empowerment of women. The directory is an ongoing project to increase the visibility of women leaders and to connect individuals, organisations, and networks working on issues of women's human rights, democracy and civil society, peace and conflict resolution, women and ICTs, and international development.
7.3. Magazine - Habari for the community radio sector
AMARC Africa is in the process of printing 2004's first edition of Habari ya Africa. "Habari" is a bi-annual magazine that examines key issues affecting the community radio sector on the continent and in the worldwide community radio family. It focuses mainly on policy issues and tracks developments within the community radio sector, linking these to communication democratisation processes at large. For copies please contact Shingai at comofficer@global.co.za
7.4. Book - Re-Thinking Sexualities in Africa
http://www.nai.uu.se/forsk/current/sex_gen/progpublicationseng.html
[English]
Edited by Signe Arnfred, this volume brings together papers by African and Nordic/Scandinavian gender scholars and anthropologists, in attempts to investigate and critically discuss existing lines of thinking about sexuality in Africa, while at the same time creating space for alternative approaches. Issues of colonial and contemporary discourses on African sexuality and on female genital mutilation are being discussed, as well as issues of female agency and of feminists' engagement with HIV/AIDS. The volume contributes to contemporary efforts of re-thinking sexualities in the light of feminist, queer and postcolonial theory.
7.5. Website - Advancing Rural Women's Empowerment through ICTs
http://womensnet.org.za/dimitra_conference/ [French and English]
AAW member, Women'sNet, hosted a regional workshop held in Johannesburg, February 23-25, 2004, with the support of the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) Dimitra Project. The workshop, brought together women's organisations, government officials, and gender and development practitioners and researchers, involved in gender and ICT projects and initiatives. The focus was on advancing rural women's empowerment. Many of the presentations are available on the website.
7.6. Paper - Perception of Womenhood in Nigeria and the Challenge of Development
http://www.gwsafrica.org/knowledge/index.html - click on Identities, Culture and Religion [English]
This paper by Nkoli N. Ezumah examines the different perceptions of womanhood in Nigeria with illustrations from the three major ethnic groups, namely the Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa. The author notes that these perceptions are culturally constructed and thus are the products of socialisation. An attempt is made to examine the consequences of such perceptions on the well-being of women in the development process. The examination closes with suggestions on how to address the challenges confronting women as a result of ways womanhood is perceived in Nigerian society.
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8. WORLD CORNER
8.1. SIYANDA
http://www.siyanda.org/ [English]
Siyanda (meaning "we are growing" in isiZulu) is an online database of gender and development materials. It is also an interactive space where gender practitioners can share ideas, experiences and resources. Siyanda aims to be an ever-growing resource to support practitioners in implementing gender programmes and in mainstreaming gender equality concerns, whether they are gender specialists or not. Siyanda is hosted by BRIDGE -the Gender and Development Information Service located at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS). For more information on Siyanda or on how to contribute contact: Ra'ida Al-Zu'bi
r.al-zubi@ids.ac.uk
8.2. Gender Perspectives Opening Diversity for Information Society Technology. International Symposium. 24-26. June 2004. Bremen, Germany
http://www.e-gist.net [English]
The focus of the symposium is to concentrate results from gender research in order to actively influence IST (Information Society Technology) research and application from a gender perspective in a sustainable way. For more information please contact the GIST organizing committee info@e-gist.net
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If you have e-mail only access, you can get web resources listed in Pula by sending a message to www4mail@kabissa.org with the web address (usually starting with http://) in the body of your message.
We welcome your opinions about this newsletter. Contributions for publication in French, English and Portuguese and for suggestions and ideas, please email Africa@apcwomen.org
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Pula is produced by APC-Africa-Women and is a project of the APC http://www.apc.org
CopyLeft 2004. Association for Progressive Communications (APC). Permission is granted to use this document for personal use, for training and educational publications, and activities by peace, environmental, human rights or development organizations. Please provide an acknowledgment to APC.
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