ICTs and adult education for empowerment of rural women in Africa

Abstract

Rural women contribute so much to development, meanwhile they suffer invisibility, they have low educational and income levels, and limited access to infrastructural development. There is tremendous potential in using ICTs and adult education for empowerment of rural women in Sub-Saharan Africa and other developing societies. A literature search revealed that ICT use has come to stay and the issue now is how to harness it for basic adult learning in developing countries in Africa. Socio-economic characteristics and cost could be a determining factor for adopting an ICT protocol for adult education among rural women. To support women to make the best of modern information for their personal development, their willingness to pay for the use of an ICT facility based on their socio-economic characteristics need to be assessed. There is also the issue of women being technology unfriendly. This calls for making information technology women friendly in the light of adult educational methodologies.