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Issues, challenges and opportunities presented by mobile
1. Closing the Gap: Issues, Challenges and
Opportunities Presented by Mobile
Telephony
14 July 2009
Enhancing Civil Society Use of ICTs in Nigeria
Abuja, Nigeria
3. The Gap
The gender digital divide
Differential access on account of:
1.Women’s low literacy levels
2.Language barrier
3.Culture
4.Media literacy
5.Poverty, Ownership and usage
4. Issues
About 4 billion mobile phones in use globally – 52 million
in Nigeria
increased teledensity in countries with less wired
infrastructure
increasingly imposing ICT tool for civic engagement -
(www.mobileactive.org; mobiles.tacticaltech.org;
www.kiwanja.net, www.newtactics.org /SendingOutanSMS
Bottom line is Access - relevant, locally appropriate
and timely information in deep rural and peri-urban
communities
% of women with such access
% of gender specific mobile enabled telephony projects
6. Opportunities
Text message infolines- Learning for Living , Interactive digital
development information services, Network for Good Governance, the
Nigerian Human Rights Hub.
The Speak Out, Stand Out, and Commit to preventing Violence against
Women SMS-based campaign by WOUGNET, in collaboration with
Womensnet, South Africa and APC-Africa-Womenwww.wougnet.org
"The phone has transformed the women farmers' lives completely -
they are able to market their produce, access information on
prices, and it has made them so confident,". Irin News, 18 March
2009, www.irinnews.org
Helplines - HIV/AIDS
Mobile banking and all its related cousins
As many others that can be generated here to ensure gendered digitopia
7.
8. Proposals
A national toll free helpline for reporting and responding
promptly to gender violence
mobile telephony mediated access and capacity building
points
Strategic gendered capacitating mobile telephony enabled
projects /activities with women’s organizations
dissemination of life changing development information
through mobile phones
