Becoming a mobile internet user in a South African rural area: The case of women in Dwesa

Abstract

The pervasiveness of mobile phones enables people in marginalised contexts, including African rural areas, to access the Internet. Evidence suggests that women are increasingly at the forefront of ICT adoption. This paper explores how and why women in Dwesa, a South African rural area, learn to access the Internet on their mobile phones. Extensive research in this area was analysed to provide a solid background to a small-scale, in-depth qualitative study. Our findings reveal that rural women can be digitally literate and information-aware users who are deeply embedded in local social networks and use their phone to mediate the local context. This is significant as it contradicts a stereotypical image of African rural women as marginal participants in the information age.