CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
The World Bank (2001) stated that“…in no region do women enjoy equal legal, social, and economic rights. Women have fewer resources than men, and more limited economic opportunities and political participation. Women and girls bear the most direct cost of these inequalities—but the harm ultimately extends to everyone. . .Gender inequalities persist because they are supported by social norms and legal institutions, by the choices and behaviours of households, and by regulations and incentives that aect the way economies function”. The report went further “A strategy to reduce gender inequalities must address these factors. Foremost among the costs of gender inequality is its toll on the quality of human lives. Evidence suggests that societies with large and persistent gender inequalities pay the price of more poverty, illness, malnutrition, and other deprivations, even death. This makes a compelling case for public and private action to eliminate inequality. Public action is particularly important, since many social, legal, and economic institutions that perpetuate gender inequalities are extremely diicult for individuals to change”. Things however started looking up for the woman in the past few centuries. With the European woman rejection of her socially imposed inability to ride the “penny-farthing” in the 18th century, came a sort of rebirth for the womenfolk. Ever since, women have found their way into virtually all male dominated activities and they have not only thrived, but succeeded tremendously in many instances. Prior to this turn around, many professions were considered the sole preserve of men. In Africa, generally, and in Nigeria in particular, the girl-child situation has changed but little from what use to operate. The case is not dierent outside Africa. In Iraq, for example, culture and women are interwoven to such as extent that mathematics was considered the sole preserve of men.
One rare credit granted the Sadam Husein regime was that it forced women to go to Globalization, ICT and The Economic Empowerment of Women in Nigeria 3 school; to the extent that an erring father may be jailed for not ensuring that his daughter go to school. His regime led to the emergence of many female engineers and medical practitioners especially during the Iraq/Iran war (Saraf, 2005). In Nigeria, the story of the girl-child has been an ever controversial issue. Though the Nigerian constitution recognizes the equality of all citizens irrespective of sex, tribe and status, the reality on ground for the girl-child has always indicated the opposite. The situation, especially in the North and South-Eastern parts of the country, is such that the girl-child is marginalized right from birth. Early adolescence is usually lost to the cultural practice of early marriage. The concept of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) is an emerging field in the world of communication, which is wielding an unimaginable influence on global activities. It restructures politics/governance, economy, culture, health etc. in many countries and regions around the world. The ICT provides a great development opportunity by contributing to information dissemination, providing an array of communication capabilities, increasing access to technology and knowledge among others. Individuals and groups have accepted it globally as a tool for enhancing their varied interest. According to Tiamiyu (2003) the ICTs are the electronic technologies for creating, acquiring, storing, processing, communication and using information. This involves the process whereby computers and other related machines are used in the dissemination and retrieval of information.
This is a new technology from what is originally known in the traditional mass media of the print and broadcast. In contemporary Nigeria, the ICT has become a household name, used in oices and at home to access, receive and retrieve information. Emphasis is being placed in the use of the ICTs to access the world at large. Similarly, many innovations in the world today are as a result of the exposure and access to the world of the ICTs, and people all over the world can access any part of the world to receive information about whatever that borders their interests in life. Women in their quest for empowerment and societal recognition have adopted and accepted ICTs as instrument for advancement and empowerment. It is also a tool for speedy global mobilization and dissemination of information among women. Women have long been aware of the power of information and knowledge sharing as a strategy for mobilization, advancement and empowerment. The importance attached to information and knowledge sharing by women in pursuing their course is manifested in their previous two world conferences in Nairobi, 1985 and Beijing, 1995, where among several areas of concern, the role of the media in subordinating women featured prominently. The fourth world conference on women in Beijing in 1995 recommended that women equal access to economic resources, including land, credit, science and technology, vocational training, information, communication, and markets, as a means to further the advancement and empowerment of women and girls including the enhancement of their capacities to enjoy the benefits of equal access to these resources by means of international cooperation. In addition, the conference highlighted in its platform for action on women and the media, diagnosis: strategic objectives which include; to increase the participation and access of women to expression and decision making in and through the media and information communication technologies as well as to promote a balanced and non-stereotyped portrayal of women in the media.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The challenges or obstacles to ICT utilization for women’s development are a global phenomenon but it is more obvious in developing countries. As a result of Africa’s numerous problems such as poverty, high level of illiteracy among others, it is the worst hit. Just as in many areas of development (e.g. agriculture, health, and education), women face enormous challenges in ICT for their own development. Using and benefiting from ICT requires learning, training, affordable access to the technology, availability of information relevant to them and a great amount of collaborative efforts to create an enabling environment. Several obstacles have resulted in the differential access and impact of the ICTs on men and women.
