Using radio to promote safe motherhood: the Taru initiative

In our readings for this week, we learned about the power of a seemingly simple device: the radio. The Mary Myers article; “Why Radio Matters” made a case for the potential that the radio has to save lives and improve health outcomes by broadcasting health messages in form of radio soap operas. This may seem like a weird concept to us, but it has been proven successful in many developing countries around the world. I will share a case study from Bihar, India where a radio soap opera show was used to lower fertility rates, therefore decreasing maternal mortality.

Bihar is the poorest state in India and has the highest fertility rates. The average fertility rate in India is 2.6, yet the rate in Bihar remains above four. Only 34% of single females in Bihar reported using contraception of any kind, according to the 2001 Census in India. High fertility rates contribute greatly to maternal. A local NGO, Janani (which provides reproductive health care), a non-profit “Population Communication International,” and researchers from Ohio University paired up to address the dismal maternal health situation in Bihar. They produced and entertainment-education campaign targeting about 190 million men and women living in rural Bihar and three neighboring states. They reached their target audience through a radio program soap opera that aired once a week for a year. This 52- episode series was about the life of a fictional woman named Taru. As Vijaykumar (2008) states, the campaign sought to, “motivate listeners to take charge of their own health, seek health services, and better their living” (p. 182).

The campaign was a great success. Baseline vs. follow-up surveys of 1,500 households in Bihar showed that there was an increase in awareness family planning and an overall greater approval from people’s social networks about the use of family planning after the radio series. Utilization of family planning services also increased which portrays a great success; not only was this campaign able to educate and inform its audience, it actually caused behavior change which is not always an immediate outcome of mass media campaigns. In addition, condoms and other forms of contraception and pregnancy test sales increased “exponentially,” in several villages according to Vijaykumar (2008, p. 184). The study even found that there was an overall increase in gender equality beliefs among the respondents, which is a huge step in the right direction for maternal health because maternal mortality stems from the general lack of value placed on women’s lives in many developing countries. The fact that there were changes not only at the individual level, but also at the community and service-demand level highlights the extent of the success of this campaign. It was also able to influence social norms and behaviors, which is a huge barrier to public health movements and is especially important in a destitute area like Bihar where traditional cultural beliefs often persist and present themselves as barriers to modern public health campaigns. The only obvious downfall of this campaign in my opinion is that it only used one channel to attempt to reach a population of 190 million, but clearly, it still worked.

Radios can do more than you thought, huh?

Reference: Vijaykumar, S. (2008). Communicating safe motherhood: Strategic messaging in a globalized world. Marriage & Family Review, 44(2-3), 173-199. doi:10.1080/01494920802177378

IICD: Radio and the Empowerment of Women

IICD or the International Institute for Communication and Development is a nonprofit that uses technology as a development tool and a one of their recent videos shed light on a new way of using radio. This video from their YouTube page, showed the implementation of a very interesting and innovative project. It is still surprising to think that women are denied a role or voice in politics and this video was an eye opening watch as is utilized the medium or radio to help inform women and get their opinions on local political issues.  It is very innovative to think that the people would rebroadcast previous stories in order to reach more individuals and increase awareness of issues that effect them.The use of radio, or traditional media as IICD refers to it, in development it closely related to the topics we discusses in class. This project in particular adds to Mary Myers article, “Why Radio Matters: making the case for radio as a medium for development.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why Should We Empower Women in the Use of ICTs?

There is no escaping the fact that there exists a great divide in the use of ICTs between men and women. However, exactly how important is it to bridge this gap? Personally, I have always believed that morally this gap should definitely be closed but I was also pleased to discover that it is also common sense to do so as it can bring many advantages both to women and society as a whole. In the speech given by the UN-Women Deputy Executive Director Director Lakshmi Puri in April 2012 titled “Building Future Leaders and Decision-Makers in the ICT sectors” she argues why women should be given a central role not only in the use but also in the development of ICTs and outlines how this can be achieved.

According to Dr. Puri empowering women, particularly girls, in the use of ICTs provides “new avenues for learning, sharing knowledge, and education”. By teaching women how to use them they are offered new livelihood opportunities as well as a bigger role in political discourse and better productive capabilities. ICTs can be a way in which the gender gap is bridged in many areas enabling women to “build their future on a level-playing field with their male counterparts”. Finally, ICTs are also important as they can bring cultural changes particularly in relation to gender roles. By empowering both young men and women in their use, stereotypes and cultural preconceptions can be broken thus overcoming discriminatory attitudes.

Dr. Puri points out particular actions that must be taken in order to achieve this. First, she advocates enabling girls to start using technology at an earlier age as that makes them more likely for them to adopt their use. Additionally, girls should be able to access ICTs both inside and outside of school in safe and accessible spaces. Finally, women should also be part of the development of new technologies not only be their target demographic as this will lead to better technologies that address the needs of women.

Personally, I believe that the stance Dr. Puri takes in the spread of ICT usage and her work in prioritizing gender sensible ICT policies is not only right but also necessary step towards the development of underdeveloped populations.

A Case for Telecenters Empowering Rwandan Women

Allarfrica recently posted an article about how telecenters have actually been doing some good things for women in rural Rwandan communities. The Rwandan Telecentre Network (RTN) has launched an ICT literacy campaign, designed to help both urban and rural women improve their businesses. The idea behind this program is that RTN puts telecenters in rural villages, teaches women how to use computers, and then, consequentially, women will be able to digitally access market information and sell their goods at better prices. RTN also believes that telecenters are beneficial because they allow women to connect with other rural areas via social media and email. Some women in the program also aspire to start their own computer related businesses or pursue careers in ICTs. Paul Barera, the director of RTN is optimistic that ICTs will continue to rapidly spread but acknowledges that “illiteracy and poor purchasing power are the main challenges that hamper rural people from fully benefiting from ICTs opportunities.” These are both very valid issues and the article does not go into depth about how RTN is addressing them.

RTN has also partnered with Telecentre.org to help rural women improve their digital literacy.  Telecentre.org is partned with the UN Telecommunications Union and is an organization that seeks to empower women through ICTs. Its three main goals are:

-Wide-scale digital literacy training for grassroots women

-Enlistment of partners and supporters as champions for the cause

-Recognition of telecentre women-achievers.

These telecenters have definitely provided some success stories of women running more efficient business through the incorporation of computers and other ICTs. Furthermore, there are currently 30 telecenters in every one of Rwanda’s districts and the country and hopes to increase internet penetration by 15% in the next year. Rwanda is clearly a leader in effective ICT use in Africa and it seems that their telecenters may actually be producing some positive results. It will be interesting to see how things change for rural women who now have access to telecenters and if their successes are sustainable.

Women and ICTs: Mahyoro Rural Information Centre’s Campaign Against Gender Based Violence

When approaching development and the use of ICTs in development it is important to keep the reality of gender at the forefront of your activities. This process of gender mainstreaming, or the conscious inclusion of how development projects effect men and women differently and how men’s and women’s needs also differ, has been the topic of discussion this week in IDT4D and there is some interesting data and gender divides present in the use of ICTs. Through the discussion of a policy paper  we were confronted with the data that proved our hypothesis that there is indeed a gender divide present in the use of ICTs in development, and in particular in the use of mobile phones. For the most part women were less inclined to own a mobile phone and that when they do own them they are often gifted and that women do not use them as often, or in the same manner as men. With this information there are a number of organizations that are trying to bridge this divide and provide women with the means and skills to use mobile phones to empower themselves. There are four organizations featured in an article  that, in 2010, received grants to implement projects that will help women in rural areas of Uganda build awareness about and learn to report domestic violence through the use of ICTs. One organization, Mahyoro Rural Information Centre (MARIC), appears to be making great strides in enhancing women’s lives through ICTs.

MARIC appears to be project under the Women of Uganda Network and it works to enhance the exchange of information and experience of ICTs through out communities in Kitagwenda. They have implemented several ICT projects since its inception in 2006. These projects include the production of puppet shows that educate about the importance of women’s rights and the use of ICTs and the Enhancing Access to Agricultural Information project. The project that they received the funding for is a more gender based ICT campaign designed to combat violence against women using ICTs. This campaign trained 34 grassroots women’s organizations use ICTs to address violence against women and girls. The training included learning to set up hotlines and use mobile phones to spread messages about events. At the end of the training 21 Community Resource Persons were given phones to implement their ideas and spread information about their program as well as information about sexual health and resources available to victims.

 

(Community Resource Persons receiving training)

This project seems, in theory, to be very beneficial in educating women about their rights as well as the use of ICTs, but there are many questions left unanswered. After scouring the Internet for information about the success of the project I ended empty-handed. Other than the information on the Women of Uganda Network from November 22, 2011 there is nothing. There was not information about many of the women that the project was targeting had access to mobile phones to receive the information, based on the policy paper I assume that it is not many. The lack of monitoring, or information about the monitoring, taking place also makes me wonder how the 21 Community Resource Persons were able to reach out to the women of Kitagwenda.

Women 2000 and Beyond: Gender equality and empowerment of women through ICT

“Women 2000 and Beyond” is a publication series produced by the UN. In September of 2005 they published an issue titled “Gender equality and empowerment of women through ICT,” which I found to be a great supplement to our discussions and reading for this week. According to their website, Women 2000 and Beyond brings to light “issues which have not been given adequate attention in global policy-making processes or addresses the gender perspectives of issues currently at the centre of global attention.” It is a very interesting resource to explore if you are looking for more information about the role that gender plays in development, especially in areas of development that you may not have previously considered to be ‘gendered.’

The issue of particular interest for this class, “Gender equality and empowerment of women through ICT,” provides an overview of gender inequality related to ICTs, and, in turn, how we can use ICTs to address gender inequalities. The article is 40 pages long, but in summary, the it states that ICTs have the potential to empower women by:

1)   Increasing their access to health, nutrition, education, political participation, etc. Technology like SMS messaging definitely has the potential to improve maternal health, for example. The article highlights an example of a successful effort to decrease maternal mortality in Uganda where birthing attendants were equipped with high frequency radios and were alerted when women needed their assistance at home, or when the hospital needed them. In addition, with access to email and the Internet, women can more effectively fight for their rights by contacting local or national governments with their concerns.

2)   Offering them a private place for to communicate with each other outside of the presence of men, their children, elders etc

3)   Providing an outlet for ‘freedom of expression’ and the opportunity to address women’s rights and discuss issues relevant to women. For example, the issue mentions a radio station that was created by women in Uganda called “Mama FM” where women discussed, and the listeners learned about issues such as human rights, motherhood, governance, health etc

4)   Expanding their access to producers, traders, markets, and…

5)   Creating economic opportunities for women (especially in rural areas). Employment opportunities in the ICT sector itself would provide women with steady jobs in the formal labor force. In addition, having access to ICTs increases women’s abilities to maintain/ start small business endeavors/ entrepreneurship. With their own means of communication, women can often bypass a ‘middleman’ in business transactions and avoid exploitation.

The article goes on and on. But essentially, ICTs offer similar benefits to men and women, but many women in developing countries are currently being left behind, and are experiencing a poorer quality of life than men as a result. Just as there is concern that the digital divide may exacerbate the inequalities that exist between the rich and the poor, this article points to the risk that “ICT may exacerbate existing inequalities between women and men and create new forms of inequality” (p. 3). Luckily, great hope lies in the opportunity for ICTs to help women, as long as they are given the chance to use them effectively.

ICT Usage Among Marginalized Women in Thailand

I believe Gender Assessment of ICT Usage and Access in Africa   does an excellent job highlighting the complications of dispersing ICT access equally across rural and urban areas of developing countries. By breaking ICT down to specific categories, including radio, internet and cell phone access, the report gives the clear understanding of the complications, emphasizing the role of women, in and out of the house, and how and when they are most commonly able to access ICTs. Just as women of rural lands are marginalized in this report, I chose to look further into marginalized populations and their access to ICTs. I came across a report entitled ICT’s and it’s Social Meanings: Women in the Margins of Thailand. This report, published in December 2010 by Mary Luz Menguita-Feranil focuses on the social implications of ICTs for marginalized women in the Thailand-Burma border. (see map below)

These implications have grown from globalization and technological change, and most widely effect the growth and transformation of the local economy. The report finds that while this globalization of ICT usage has helped the economies of most developed countries, a major urban-rural divided persists in developing countries such as Thailand (similar to what was found in the first article mentioned) and that a notable implication of this divide majorly affects the marginalized women, the migrant workers and refugees, in Thailand, especially in the context of community empowerment. These refugees and migrant workers are in an attempt to escape the repressive militant government of Burma. The role of ICTs has been great. They have enabled significant growth and survival of the freedom of information, communication, and mobility that were not allowed to the women within their own country. Essentially the new perspective this paper was able to bring to my attention was the ability of ICTs to keep refugees connected. Not with the outside world, but with their old life. The refugees are now able to stay connected with their family at home, amplify their voice and their need, and continue to enable a knowledge society where women can expand and learn. Unfortunately, a large group of women, in Thailand, and around the globe, are still excluded from these benefits. The exclusions include the illiterate, those in particular rigid religious households, and those who cannot afford the technology. However, hope is seen in the changes this access has granted to the refugees, and the ability it has given them to hold onto a normal life with opportunity. 

ICT Usage, Economic growth, and Gender Equality in India.

In “Connecting the first mile:  a framework for best practice in ICT projects for knowledge sharing in development”  we see a framework set up for the best practices in ICT projects for knowledge sharing in development, centered around debates related to: Top down versus participatory solutions to development problems, global versus local solutions, technological versus social solutions, and optimism versus pessimism about the role of ICTs in development. Based upon this article there are essentially three success factors that determine the efficiency of ICT development: the environment, the project level, and the first mile. I am going to focus on a country in which we success in all three of these areas; India. As noted in the infographic below, India is the winner for the most growth “in terms of mobile users in the past 20 years”. Instead of looking at only where this success was driven from, I am going to look at what this success in growth and technological innovation has done for women in India in the ast few decades.

Mobile Usage Worldwide infographic

A study published in partnership by the International Center for Research on Women and the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women entitled: “Connectivity, How mobile phones, computers, and the internet can catalyze women’s entrepreneurship; Case Study: India”, part 2.2 takes time the analyze the information and communications sector in India, finding major success including:

1. New policies and business opportunities, especially in wireless communications and products, inspiring growth of the new government ministries, regulatory agencies, state-owned corporations, and private sector companies.

2. The expansion of sought out market space in the mobile and internet services industry from companies such as state-owned BSNL and MTNL, Bharti-Airtel, Reliance Communications, as well as Nokia and Motorola.

3. The growth of the ICT sectors contribution to GDP from 3.4% in 2000-2001 to 5.9% in 2007-2008.

With the staggering economic and political success of ICTs in India, I am asking how this success has worked to improve the lives of women in India, and the answer is, it has, and in a big way.

The graphic from the ICRW report notes the rise in economic social and educational success for women. This success is due the residual effects of ICT development including GDP growth, job creation, and social change. Barriers to women’s business success in India that remain include: social norms, time, capital and financing, skills and training, access to markets, and business networks. While these barriers exist, they are similar to issues we would find in a fully developed country such as the United States.

These challenges will continue to exist around the world, but what all developing nations can learn from the success of India is the wide range of positive benefits the expansions and successful implementation of mobile phone strategy can have. The more connected the population, the more likely we are to see success and growth spread.

Is the interaction between ICTs and Women part of the MDG Agenda?

One of the objectives of MDG #8 is to “make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications”. When I read this objective a few questions popped in my head. Who are we making this benefits available to? Should we focus on a particular group? And finally should we put particular emphasis on women? According to the report published by the International Center for Research on Women titled “Bridging the Gender Divide”  paying special attention to women when introducing ICTs should be of vital importance. By investing in ICT access for women both MDG #3 (Promote gender equality and empower women) and #8 (Develop a global partnership for development) can be addressed. The report states that “Improving women’s access to technology has the potential to spur their economic advancement and stimulate broader economics growth”.

 

Although it makes sense to invest in ICT access for women there a lot of barriers that make this difficult. The report lists four main barriers that impede female access to technology: Exclusion from technology education and design, limited free time, social norms favoring men, and financial institutional constraints. Although it can be hard to overcome these barriers when implementing ICT policy or programs if entities implementing these want to get the most out of them in regards of fulfilling the MDGs they should pay special attention to women. Luckily the report has a short list of to do and not to do basics when implementing ICTs in order for them to be inclusive for women. The report states that entities should:

• Engage women throughout the design and deployment process
• Focus on sectors likely to convey rapid and significant benefits
• Reach for partners with complementary capabilities
• Invest in training that is obviously needed

 

Additionally it states that they should not:

• Underestimate the complexity of ensuring access to and sustained use of existing and new technologies
• Reduce women to their role as end users
• Forget to document the journey

 

In conclusion, ICTs are important in the development of MDGs however if they are truly to be used to their full potential special emphasis should be taken on how they interact with certain groups particularly women.

Malala Yousufzai: Blogger Activist and Inspiration

Malala Yousufzai

Malala Yousufzai is a 14-year old girl from Pakistan. Unlike many 14-year olds, however, Malala does not simply spend her days complaining about homework, whispering secrets to her best friend, or flirting with her crush. Instead, Malala has become a blogger activists, advocating for girls’ education in Pakistan. She lives in a conservative region of Northwestern Pakistan where the Taliban tightly restrict female education. Malala’s frustration with these restrictions caused her to begin speaking out via the internet. For her courage and activism, Malala was awarded Pakistan’s first National Youth Peace Prize.

However, Malala’s story is not only one of accolades and courage. Sadly, in early October, Malala was shot by Taliban extremists. Pakistan’s President and Prime Minister both condemned the attack. Today, doctors say Malala is making progress, but the road to recovery is slow. She is currently in the UK receiving medical treatment after an initial surgery to remove a bullet lodged in her neck in Pakistan. Her story is inspiring people around the world to take action, with thousands signing a petition to nominate her for the Nobel Peace Prize and November 10th will mark “Malala Day.”

Malala’s story demonstrates the great power of activist bloggers. Malala’s blog about the horrors of life under the Taliban and her desire to promote girls’ education earned her international attention and scared Taliban militants enough for them to attempt to kill her. If she survives, they promise they will try again. Malala is a strong young woman, however, and vows to return to Pakistan eventually to continue advocating for education and life free of Taliban rule. Blogging and other social media have propelled her story from the rural Swat Valley of Pakistan to international attention and will hopefully help to further her goals, as well as recognize her courage.

You can learn about a few other youth activists using social media in this article.