Feminist criticism of Digital Coloniality in the African context

Development Policy Review, 2016

The African Union has declared 2010-2020 as the African Women's Decade to accelerate African women's development. However, to achieve the decade's goals, African countries must acknowledge the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in consolidating human capital. This research investigates gender disparities in access and use of ICTs in sub-Saharan Africa and finds that men are more likely to own and use the technologies. Education, socioeconomic status, domesticity and traditionalism are all linked to ICT use. However, the gender gap does not arise as a result of differential returns to these factors for men and women. Rather, it materializes when fewer women have the resources, or are more disadvantaged in accessing and using ICTs. Implications are discussed.

Information Development, 2008

2021

Social scientists and practitioners across the world attempt to tackle the challenge of gendered digital divides, especially in achievement of e-government or people-centered governance. "African Women, ICT, And Neoliberal Politics" by Assata Zerai is the culmination of these efforts by drawing on the history of gender and digital divides in Africa. The book highlights the challenges to address the question of "how can we promote people-centered governance in Africa." Past researchers highlight the importance of ICT and digital equity in neoliberal understanding of democratic governance (Asongu & Nwachukwu, 2016). In recognizing the discrepancies among women's rights and the cultural stigmatization in Africa in relation to technology, Zerai presents a strong case for the importance of gender equity in achieving purposeful people-centered government. This book delights academic and practical readers actively working in feminist, government, or ICT areas. Assata Zerai writes from an African feminist academic-activist perspective, bridging the gaps between academic and practical. As a Professor of Sociology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, her research includes women's rights, gender equity and inclusion, and ICT, much of which focuses on Africa and the African Diaspora. Beyond simply discussing the gender divides and practical impacts of addressing e-government challenges, Zerai emphasizes women's voices in a multitude of ways: (1) she inspects how women's access to ICT makes a difference to the success of people-centered government; and (2) she demonstrates how culture and scholarship of African women, must be understood, and implemented in the processes and goals of democratic governance. In doing so, she makes a case for woman-centered methodology. In this, Zerai formulates a database of female and gender-conscious scholars, activists, and practitioners in particular African countries to determine local values on gender equity and good governance. From this, she builds a conceptual model to analyze the impact of ICT on these values. This book is insightful in that it goes beyond simply viewing the challenges of e-government at the foundational level but works to discuss the cultural and social distinctions that affect the success of people-centered government in Africa. Zerai begins by discussing the mobile ecosystem and internet access in Africa and its relation to the gender digital divide. From there, she utilizes a variety of case studies on ICT, women's status and rights, and governance in a variety of African countries. The most critical finding and explanation in the book, is the alliance between ICT, the diffusion of knowledge to women, gender-inclusive governance, and the resulting impact on women's lives in select African countries.

IGI Global eBooks, 2011

The chapter provides an examination of the concept of the digital divide in Africa and its effect on the women in Africa, how ICTs can be used as tools for gender equality and empowerment and the barriers women face in regards to access to ICT infrastructure. These barriers includes: lack of access to physical infrastructure, illiteracy, social and cultural limitations, lack of finance, decision making ability, segregation in employment issues, etc. Also examined is the historical development of ICT policies in Africa, alongside a gender analysis of African ICT policies and policy oriented strategies for making ICT beneficial to women in Africa.

2012

Gender equality has been identified as critical to the realisation of knowledge societies. This has been reflected in policy commitments at both global and national levels. The increased take up of information and communication technologies (ICTs), particularly broadband, has increasingly been linked to economic growth and social inclusion. Yet, the uneven nature of such developments is widely known. In acknowledgement of this in relation to gender the World Summit on the Information Society in 2003 called on governments to find ways of providing opportunities for women to participate and empowering them to ensure their full and equal participation at all levels. Despite these rhetorical undertakings though there has been little systematic collection of sex disaggregated data on ICT access and use and even less that analyses the descriptive data that exists. Without such analysis, descriptive data is not only incomplete but can also mislead policymakers on the correct points of poli...

Ada: A Journal of Gender, New Media, and Technology, 2020

Over the past decade and earlier, much of the academic and grey literature has painted an optimistic picture of rapidly increasing access and growth of digital technologies in Africa. Industry statistics put internet penetration in Africa close to 40 percent and growing, even though the continent still lags behind the world average of Internet users (Internet World Statistics, June 2019). Some estimates predict that by 2025 the sub-continent will add 167 million mobile subscribers to its existing 456 million (GSMA Report, 2019). Mobile devices, especially, have assumed centrality in the lives of ordinary people and provide prospects for Africa to leapfrog into the modern digital world. Smart phones are enabling millions of Africans to share news and information more easily and to tap into all kinds of essential services, much like elsewhere in the world.

International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD), 2020

Significant shreds of evidence from literature revealed that women constitute half of the world's human capital. Shreds of evidence also show that women have the potentials to redress gender gaps if empowered through Information and Communication Technology (ICT), favourable laws, ethics, and values. Despite these important virtues, numerous investigations have shown significant gender gaps in internet use (23%), literacy rate (48.6%), pay gap (22%), political ambition, educational outcomes, etc., resulting majorly from restrictions placed by customary laws, ethics, and values that failed to incorporate no gender-sensitive ICT policies in Africa. This study highlights the strategy to leverage the economic empowerment of women in Africa through ICT adoption, and favourable ICT policies, culture, ethics, and values. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) was adopted as the conceptual framework. In this study, the authors explored a narrative review methodology of related research findings from peerreviewed articles to draw holistic findings that revealed significant information on strategies for leveraging ICT in closing the gender gap. Results show that gender gaps may result from women diverting time for circular works, due to unfavorable customary laws, ethics, and values, to meet family responsibilities or having less control over finances, which negatively impact their affordability of ICTs. Results also show that empowering women in ICT may advance sustainable goals, leverage their literacy abilities for ICT adoption; leverage ICT in closing gaps in gender discrepancy in sociability capital resources.

2010

The paper (as well as the larger study) is based on the premise that ICTs have a positive effect on income and poverty alleviation; much research has provided evidence of this for a variety of ICTs, contexts and locations. Disparate access to ICTs by women can therefore, magnify existing inequalities, a cause for concern for policy makers. If this is so, then women can become increasingly marginalized "from the economic, social and political mainstream of their countries and of the world" (Hafkin and Taggart, 2001, p. 7). The need to measure the extent of these disparities, as a first step toward remedying them, is therefore apparent.

Gazette, 2002

As Africa's women struggle to enlarge their spheres of influence in political, economic and social arenas, the question is whether the Internet and other digital technologies can become agents of transformation or will reproduce the inequalities of the status quo. This study investigates the sites where gender, class and international trade intersect with the emerging communications technologies, thus epitomizing the ambiguities of globalization. The author overviews Internet development projects currently under way in Africa in general and Senegal in particular, revealing the interconnectedness of governmental and non-governmental initiatives with private capital interests. She argues that the impact of communication technologies in the developing world can only be understood within this web of contingencies, and that neither a naive celebration of ICT potential nor condemnation of a new digital colonialism adequately captures the situation. Keywords / Africa and the Internet / media globalization / technology and development / telecenters / women and development GAZETTE: THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR COMMUNICATION STUDIES COPYRIGHT © 2002 SAGE PUBLICATIONS LONDON, THOUSAND OAKS & NEW DELHI, VOL 64(3):