CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

In Nigeria, majority of the people are poor. But who are the poor? The GPRS defines poverty as “unacceptable physiological and social deprivation” (GPRS, 2003). Poverty is not restricted to Nigeria alone. Approximately three-quarters of the world’s 1.2 billion are extremely poor people who live in rural areas, and at least half of them are women. Poverty is not gender neutral. Women face greater challenges than men in gaining access to and control of, land, credit, education, health services and technologies.

In Uganda for instance, rural women have no right to land (CEEWA, 2003), nor do they have decision making powers without consulting their husle or male authorities. In Ekiti State of Nigeria, it was observed that women living in rural area are known to be unable to access information which can help meet the demands of the challenge of daily living. The only available phone-boot in one of the villages is at the king’s palace a place quite restricted from women.

The plight of rural women has not been too infinitesimal to be noticed by those who could assist. Many programmes sponsored by the national government or international agencies have been designed to improve quality of life of the rural women in Nigeria. Worthy to be mentioned is the introduction of the better life for rural women (BLW) in 1987 under late Mariam Babaginda, (The then Nigeria first lady) and the family economic advancement programme (FEAP) under Mariam Abacha (The Nigeria first lady in 1993-1997) which were planned to play critical role in alleviating the status of rural women in Nigeria, socially and economically. In recognition of the failure of the past government efforts, some non-governmental organization stepped up efforts to also improve the quality of life among the women folks living in rural areas. Examples is the country women association of Nigeria (COWAN) which started in Ondo State Nigeria in 1982 (Modupe, 2008).

However, most of these programmes have failed to ameliorate the working and living conditions of rural women, because women in rural area for which such programmes were meant lagged behind in terms of socio-economic advancement. The reason according to Momozlu, (2002) is that rural women in Nigeria have developed a culture of silence, resignation and docility.

This author stressed that rural women in Nigeria are not inherently poor, nor doomed to ignorance disease, rather they are blessed with massive fertile land and mineral resources and also a huge virile labour force, which can be transformed into goods and services. The missing link however has been the absence of an effective information system pattern for mobilizing and stimulating them into action with a view to improving their quality of life.

At the millennium summit in September 2000, world leader adopted the UN millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which are the world time bound and quantified target for addressing extreme poverty. The MDGs recognized that empowering women to enhance their educational and economic status and reduce their vulnerability to disease, hunger and disaster are key factors in the eradication of poverty. To achieve this goal there must be complete revolutionary in the way of processing storing and disseminating of information. This no doubt can only be achieved if ICT is available to all. But what is ICT? ICT is a combination of physical backbone and intellect. Basically information handling tools a varied set of goods, application and services that are used to produce, store, process, distribute and exchange information. They include the “Old” ICTs of radio, televising and telephone and “New ICTs of computer, satellite and wireless technology and the Internet. The trained human behind the backbone are intellect. These different tools are able to work together and combating to form “Networked world” a massive infrastructure of interconnected telephone services, standardized computer hardware, the Internet, radio and television which reaches into every corner of the globe.

The revolutionary potentials of ICT’s lies in their capacities to connect vast networks of individuals and organizations across great geographical distances at very little cost. ICTs have been key enabler of globalization, facilitating world wide flow of information, capital, ideas, people and product. They have transformed business, markets, knowledge sharing, empowered women and communities. ICT5 have amplified brainpower in much the same way as the l9” century industrial revolution amplified muscle power. ICTs encompass a broad range of tools that facilitate communication and processing and transmission of information by electronic means. They have enabled the advent of the ‘information society’, in which more information is available than ever before. However, access to this enormous body of information and to the technologies that facilities communication and information transfer, is by no means equitable. The term ‘digital divide’ has been coined to describe the situation in which some members of society or areas of the world are left behind by those who have access to ICTs. Digital divides have emerged between countries of the north and of the south and, because of connectivity constraints between urban and rural areas. In addition there is gender divide in ICTs reflecting a bias that is especially strong in the rural areas of developing countries. Women are further away from digital opportunities than men. They also tend to be less well educated, less mobile and have less control over material resources than men, and so are others unable to seek out and access the information they need.

This research work provides an overview of the use of ICTs by women and offers a vision for its developments as a trust area for intervention. It also highlights need of ICTs for rural women, salient features and functions of ICTs policy, and status of the rural women in the use of ICTs and its infrastructure, as well as service delivery through IT in Ukwuani local government in Delta State.

1.2 Research Questions

This research study will be guided by the following research questions:

1. What type of ICT resources is used by women in rural community?
2. To what extend do rural women used ICT?
3. For what purpose do they use ICT? iv. What are the various challenges associated with the use of ICT by the rural women?

Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the use of ICTs by women in rural community of Ukwuani local government area of Delta State. Specifically this study is set out to:

1. Find out the types of ICT resources used by women in rural community.
2. Determine the extent to which rural women make use of ICTs.
3. Ascertain the purpose for which rural women uses ICTs.
4. To investigate the various challenges associated with the use of ICT by the rural women.

14 Significance of the Study

This study is geared to make careful comprehensive study of ICT usage by rural women. The findings stand to benefit most rural communities in Nigeria as a whole. Therefore, the significance of this study is that, it will not only identify the effective use of ICT by women in rural communities but will also maximize the exploitation of ICT services in rural communities. It is designed to enlighten rural women and to educate them in the use of ICTs.

1.5 Scope and Delimitation of the Study

This study is directed mainly towards the role of information and communication technology in the development of women in rural community of Ukwuani local government area of Delta State as a case study. And how information gathered can be put to effective use in order to yield the desired output.

The study covers the adverse effects negatively and positively, ICT facilities use/habit have on studies, its findings, training and motivation among women. Moreso, the study is restricted to rural women.

1.6 Operational Definition of Terms

ICT: Information and communication technology is the use of manmade tools for the collection, generation, communication, recording and exploitation of information.

Internet: A computer system that allows millions of computer users around the world to exchange information. Wireless Radio Technology: This is another mode of having access to the internet. The wireless radio technology normally requires a clear line of sight between the base station at the ISP premises and the remote outdoor unit at the internet premises. Technology: Technology facilitates the process of transmitting and exchanging information.