* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
New communication technologies, with social media leading the way, have played an undeniable role in supporting and enabling the recent revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt. Similarly, internet has provided citizens in authoritarian societies an additional channel for activism beyond the official control of the head-of-state.
Much less attention has been paid, however, to the potential of communications technology in advancing global gender equality. These same ICT-applications could also open up a new window of opportunity for women to network and act beyond the control of the head-of-family in countries where women’s role in the society has traditionally been very limited.
Globally, the spread of ICT has been phenomenal. There are now more mobile phones than clean toilets. A recent survey in Kenya predicts that the largest growth in ICT take-up in the coming years will be among young women between the ages of 18 and 35. These new communication channels are used to connect with peers, both in the next town or village, and worldwide.
Mobile phones and internet provide young women a personal, private space and enable interaction with the outside world even after they are married and from inside their homes, regardless of where in the world they live.
In countries where women have limited access to knowledge, the internet can provide girls with information on topics that are often considered taboo. It gives girls and women the chance to verify facts and allows them to follow international and local media. It may also, for example, provide information to help these girls protect themselves from contracting sexually transmitted diseases and HIV.
A Mauritanian girl describes the significance of this in Plan International’s recent, “The State of the World’s Girls” –report as follows: “The internet is a safe partner with whom we can communicate discreetly, a partner that can provide us with the information we need to adapt to this moderns world. Such information cannot be given to us by our mothers, who cannot break the rules of our traditional society.”
The potential of information technology in advancing global gender equality is however diminished not only by the digital divide between the continents, but also between the sexes. It is illustrative in this sense that, for example, in Asia women make up 27 per cent of all internet users. In Latin America the figure is 38 per cent, and in the Middle East only six per cent. Similar disparities exist in mobile phone ownership. In patriarchal societies, it is men who often control the technology and may decide, for example, when and how other family members may use the computer, mobile phone, radio or television.
The development and spread of ICT also has a dark side to it. Neither young girls in industrialized countries nor those in developing countries are safe from sexually abusive material and sexual harassment online. It is therefore imperative to strengthen laws so that internet service providers worldwide are required to report the discovery of child pornography. Also needed are national tip-line websites for reporting the online sexual exploitation of children while ensuring appropriate follow up.
The access and participation of women and girls to education, science and technology are this week focused on by the most important forum of gender equality in UN, the yearly session of the Commission on the Status of Women. Girls need to be empowered to use new communications technologies safely, on their own terms and in ways which promote their development and build their future.
In practical terms, ICT-targeted education should be mainstreamed into national curricula so that girls will be able to access and use these new technologies to their advantage. Increased investments in mathematics, science and vocational education for girls will prepare them for a full range of roles in the information society - as users of information technology, as well as programmers, designers, and managers.
