Economic and Social Empowerment of Women through

Information and Communication Technology: A Case

Study of Palestine
ABSTRACT
This paper presents an insight into an initiative that intends to empower women through
Information and Communication Technologies, b means of a !oint venture between "#$s
and local women organi%ations& The paper reflects on direct and indirect impacts of the
initiative that targeted hundreds of women in 'alestinian rural areas& The research team
trac(ed the trainees) responses and the evolution of their capabilities through *ualitative
and *uantitative means such as focus group discussions, interviews with sta(eholders,
*uestionnaires, surves, and observations of on+going activities&
The initiative e,erted considerable efforts to enhance ICT technical capabilities of women,
develop their entrepreneurial capabilities, and in other was promote social and economic
empowerment& A significant percentage of the surveed women felt that the gained some
level of empowerment and self confidence through mastering the basic ICT competences,
and believed that ICT is helpful in improving their livelihood& -owever, there was little
evidence of the transformative potential of ICT that is sought out of such initiatives& The
pro!ect had some impact on the women.s personalities, on the wa the perceive
themselves in their families and societies&
-owever there are vital issues demanding further attention& /e amongst these is
improving the abilit of women to utili%e ICT effectivel and in particular for (nowledge
attainment and creation, in personal and communit development, and as a sociali%ation
channel&
/E0W$R1S
Women and ICT, women empowerment, ICT in rural area, ICT for development
2& I"TR$13CTI$"
1evelopment circles such as the World Ban(, the 3nited "ation 1evelopment 'rogram+3"1',
and 3nited "ations 1evelopment 4und for Women+3"I4E5 believe that ICT smboli%es an
e,ceptional enabling instrument when deploed and used properl& According to Abbasi 678829,
ICT represents a uni*ue :(nowledge+based social Infrastructure; which can be of great help for
women to evade marginali%ation& "ingo 62<<<9 argued that development cannot be achieved
1
though ICT without ta(ing gender issues into consideration& ICT can wor( as a novel opportunit
to enhance women.s access to information and (nowledge, as women are the least educated and
marginali%ed, especiall in developing countries, Sharma 678829&
Several reports have discussed opportunities for gender empowerment through ICT, e& g& through
education and (nowledge creation, povert alleviation, and emploment generation& Among them
are 5itter = Rowbotham 62<<>9, -uer 62<<?9, Rathgeber and Adera 678889, -af(in 678889,
5arcelle 678889, 5unua 678889, $po(u+5ensah 678889& As a sign of importance, in 7882 the
International 1evelopment Research Centre + I1RC published what can be regarded as a reference
for gender and ICT, Rathgeber and Adera 6 78889& -af(in 678889 published a review of the :gender
and ICT; theme, and provided a historical perspective of how ICT, development and gender have
emerged& $ther (e issues related to the sub!ect were raised b $bi!iofor 62<<@9, such asA does ICT
promote interaction of women within the societ and open up new channels which allow women to
discuss openl issues that are considered :taboo; using classical means, especiall in traditional
societies& The stud of Rathgeber 678889 emphasi%ed the need for national information+technolog
policies that ta(e into consideration the attitudes and needs of female users, as it ta(es that of
males&
-owever, the ma!orit of women in the developing countries, as $dedra and Stroub 62<<>9, and
-uer 62<<?9 have argued, are living in economic and social hardships that act to hinder these
technologies from being utili%ed& Additionall, the high degree of illiterac inhibits use of ICT&
Women in developing societies, including 'alestine lac( financial resources to purchase hardware,
software, and to connect to the Internet& The also lac( sufficient computer education and training
facilities to develop the needed competences to sei%e the opportunities opened up b ICT&
Therefore, step number one would be to open up doors of access for women to ICT with user
friendl sstems and relevant indigenous content& $ne channel to achieve these goals, as -uer
62<<?9 noted, is via training centers that are built in cooperation with local institutions to which
women have e*ual and open access, such as communit, women and outh centers, clubs, public
libraries, schools, and universities& This article discusses an initiative that provides access to ICT
through communit and women centers that are located in remote and rural 'alestinian areas&
As has been argued b man specialists, accessing ICT resources does not guarantee attaining
empowerment and development, there still e,ists the lac( of suitable approach and indigenous
content, through which women can wor( to improve their conditions 63nwin 788@9& The tpe of
information being accessed, especiall whether it is locall relevant, is central to the effectiveness
and success of such initiatives& In most ICT pro!ects, attention to technolog implementation
overwhelms contents presentation and ac*uirement of (nowledge& The paper sheds light on this
side of the initiative and e,amines how successful it has been in that regard& 0et if access, s(ills,
technolog and content are properl ta(en care of, the barrier of culture can still act to spoil the
preset goals and potential of such initiative& Cultural issues are overloo(ed b most planners, and
this paper e,plores how these affect women.s abilities to benefit from such initiatives& The e,tent
to which cultural issues have been ta(en into account is one of the issues that will be investigated&
2
To place the reader within the conte,t of the pro!ect setting, a description of women status within
the 'alestinian societ is given below& In 'alestine, several organi%ations are wor(ing towards
improving the position of women in the societ and addressing gender and e*ualit issues& The
most recogni%ed are the #eneral 3nion of 'alestinian Women, 5inistr of Women Affairs,
Women.s Affairs Technical Committee, Women.s Center for Begal Aid and Counseling, Women.s
Studies Center, 'alestinian Wor(ing Women.s Societ, and the 3"I4E5& These organi%ations are
e,erting efforts towards empowering women through initiatives in livelihood, education, health,
and recentl in ICT& 'alestinian women are en!oing an advanced position in the societ in
comparison to other developing and Arab countries& The school enrolment rate among 'alestinian
children is about <<C and >8C are female& The 788@ illiterac rate is recorded at >&< C, <&2C
among women and 7&<C among men& -owever, in the wor(force, women ma(e up less than 2>C
of the salaried emploees& Table 629 gives an overview of women.s status in the 'alestinian societ
in 788@, as measured b the 'alestinian Women Research and 1evelopment Center 6'WR1C9, as
of 788@&
Table 629D 'alestinian Women status as of 788@ E'WR1C, 788@F
4emale emploment rate 2G&?C
4emale 'alestinian legislative Council members 27&<C
4emale !udges 22&7C
4emale prosecutors 27&2C
4emale doctors 27&2C
4emale lawers 22&7C
Bife e,pectanc ?G&G ears
4emale literac rate <8&<C
4emale outh literac <@&@C
4emale school attendees >8C
4emale universit attendees >8C
This stud anal%es the endeavors of two organi%ations that are active in women.s empowerment
through various means, including ICT& Relief International Schools on line, 6RI+S$B9
6httpDHHwww&ri&orgH9, and 3nited "ations 1evelopment 4und for Women 3"I4E5 offer training
programs in basic ICT for thousands of 'alestinian women, especiall in rural and remote areas,
with the following goals in mindD
Train women with the vital living s(ills in order for them to ta(e a dnamic role in their
societies through integrating ICT into all aspects of lifeA
Empower women through ICT training on legal issues, non+violence, political participation
and civic educationA
$rgani%e activities that support educational, economic and political developmentA
3
This paper summari%es the results of an evaluation initiative primaril designed to investigate the
relevance of current training to the needs of rural women and their communities in the view of the
preset goals& 3"I4E5 has a broad initiative for women in development called Sabaa 6Arabic
word for outhful women9 6httpDHHwww&sabaa&orgHenglish&php9& Through this initiative, the ICT
for Women 1evelopment 'rogram was implemented in the 'alestinian territories in 788G in
partnership with the 3nited "ations 1evelopment 'rogramH'rogram of Assistance to the
'alestinian 'eople 63"1'H'A''9 with funding from the #overnment of Iapan& The Sabaa
initiative aims to implement and operate womenJs centers with a wide range of activities in rural
communities& 3"I4E5 has completed the first and second pilot phases of the Sabaa program in
nine rural communities in the West Ban(& Since the pilot phase, the program has been e,panded to
cover a total of 2@ rural communities in the West Ban( and #a%a Strip& With additional funding
from the #overnment of "orwa, the Sabaa program has also benefited from targeted
humanitarian assistance for 'alestinian women& A minimum of K88 women are trained, including
in basic ICT s(ills, at these centers annuall&
Since 788G, RI+S$B and 3"I4E5 have provided training programs in basic ICT s(ills for
thousands of rural 'alestinian women& 5otivations for this training are diverse, including increased
demand for emploees with ICT s(ills, the desire for rural women to help their children with
homewor( and the necessit of accessing (nowledge and communicate through the Internet& This
paper presents an assessment of the pro!ect and evaluates its level of success, as viewed b the
various sta(eholders, with emphasis on the relevance of current training to the needs of rural
women and their communities, and the was in which their relevance can be enhanced&
7. RESEARC !ET"#"$"%&
1etails of the research methodology ado'ted in this research (ere descri)ed else(here*
Ra)ayah* +2,,-.. To ensure credi)le results* )lended techni/ues* )oth /uantitati0e and
/ualitati0e (ere em'loyed to in0estigate )oth initiati0es. Re0ie(s of current training
materials* user feed)ac1 through /uestionnaires and focus grou' discussions (ere among
techni/ues used. 2ie(s of trainers* course administrators and target grou' re'resentati0es
(ere collected and analy3ed 4i)id5. As has )een discussed in 4i)id5* data collected 0ia
/uantitati0e methods (ere contrasted and 0alidated through focus grou' discussion* and
trainers6 inter0ie(s. A total num)er of 11- female mem)ers 'artici'ated in the sur0eys at
se0en locations in the 7est 8an1. K8 women too( part in the focus group discussions, which
consisted of four groups of 2> women each.
4urthermore, to get a clearer 'icture of the (omen6s 'erce'tion to(ards ICT training and their
e9'ectations* si9 additional semi:structured focus grou' discussions (ere con0ened. B
holding these focused discussions, it was possible to effectivel assess perceived relevance of
training courses to the everda lives of rural women and the development needs of their
communities& It has been noted that responses given to *uestions regarding course e,pectations and
reasons for underta(ing training courses can alter due to the changed perceptions developing
throughout the training course itself& Therefore in order to get an accurate picture as to wh rural
;
women feel the need for ICT training and what e,pectations the have of that training, si,
additional semi+structured focus group discussions were held with a total of 28G rural women&
-owever, and as discussed in EibidF, collected data were disaggregated according to age
and profession& The onl significant age+related difference worth noting is that older
women were less aware of impact of these technologies on the economic and social status
of women& The differences were more pronounced when the level of education and !ob
occupation is considered, especiall as to the reason wh women were see(ing ICT
training& 5ore on this will follow in the subse*uent sections&
L& RES3BTS A"AB0SIS
The (e issues to be anal%ed in this section is categori%ed into four issuesA course
materials, rationale behind rural women see(ing ICT training, perception of rural women
towards ICT training courses, and finall immediate and long term impact of ICT training
on women&
The first two issues were e,tensivel discussed in Rabaah 6788@9& In order to complete
the picture of the training initiative, we introduce a summar of the main results of these
findings as presented in EibidF& In regards to training material, the International Computer
1riving Bicense 6IC1B9+based standard, composed of basic s(ills in Windows, $ffice and
the Internet, was used& This arrangement, as we see it, is regarded as an imperfection since
other ICT resources li(e mobile phones, radio and TM, were not given an attention,
though the can have significant impact on women.s development EibidF& Another
shortcoming was the focus on technical s(ills on how to use computers, with less emphasis
on how to leverage (nowledge and boost empowerment among trainees& In such a venue,
mastering the basic ICT s(ills was seen as an end in itself and not as a vehicle to sensibl
improve the lives of rural women and their communities& Even trainers revealed that
leveraging (nowledge and economic and social empowerment were not directl targeted,
and the themselves were not prepared to coach women in that direction& 4urthermore,
training materials were not effective in achieving such goals, as communicated b the
ma!orit of trainers EibidF&
L&2 5otivation behind see(ing ICT training
In regards to wh do rural women see( ICT training, the ma!orit of women aspire to
attain basic ICT s(ills to enhance the *ualit of their lives in terms of (nowledge or for
emploment purposes& A considerable percentage 6L7C9 sought to increase the level of
their (nowledge and awareness through ICT& The ne,t most common rationale, 77C, was
to enhance their emploment position and earning power, while 2<C did the course
primaril to help their children to learn ICT, see figure 2 EibidF& Analsis of the results
showed that students and unemploed women recogni%ed the importance of ICT in terms
of access to (nowledge and increased emploment prospects& What seems to be missing
was an understanding of ICT as a tool for social empowerment and communit
development, or what is recentl coined as networ(ing and sociali%ation side EibidF&
<

Figure 1: Recorded womens reactions in regards to their motivation towards the ICT
raining [ibid]
$nl 28C of participants saw the training as a window for sociali%ing with others and LC
saw it as a wa to (eep up with their peers& These aspects are not directl lin(ed to original
ob!ectives of the training& Such reactions illustrate that social dimensions, both in families
and communities are important for some women besides access to (nowledge and
increasing emploabilit EibidF&
L&7 'erception of ICT training b rural women
The surve offers a positive and encouraging overall view of the ICT training initiatives& In
fact over @8C of the women who participated in the training felt it had been on the whole
useful& A similar percentage was (een to enroll in future courses in order to further
improve their s(ills& -owever, it is important to loo( at women)s perceptions of outcomes
and impacts in depth in order to ascertain whether these tpes of initiatives reall ma(e a
difference to women)s lives, and the development of their communities and if not, how
the can be improved to contribute to impacts in these areas in the future& In order to
conduct this in depth review, we shall e,plore women.s perceptions in the conte,t of
NempowermentN in terms of access to (nowledge, social empowerment, and economic
empowerment&
=
Empowerment entails ac*uiring (nowledge, fostering self confidence, e,pansion of
choices, participation in decision ma(ing and improving access to and control over
resources, Strom*uist 6788>9& ICT, when used effectivel, can achieve all of these goals&
Access to resources is indeed the (e, with (nowledge being the most important resource
of all& ICT is able to improve women)s standing both economicall in terms of access to
greater opportunities and higher wages and sociall in terms of networ(ing and social
interaction& While Npolitical empowermentN will not be discussed in depth as part of this
stud, since it needs more elaborations, it is implicitl noticed throughout the initiative& 4or
instance, as women are able to increase their (nowledge and connections with others, gain
status within their social sphere and increase their earning power, the will eventuall have
more capacit to contribute in and lead political movements& Through the following
sections we shall see if the initiatives have contributed to empowerment, how this impact
can be improved, and whether such gains were utili%ed for the overall development of the
surrounding communities&
L&L Access to /nowledge
The importance of (nowledge and the abilit of ICT to improve access to (nowledge for
wor( and education, seemed, to be well (nown b the female students and labor force
participants who have underta(en the ICT training courses& As noted earlier, access to
(nowledge was the primar reason, cited b L7C of women& -owever, it was noted that
this was conceived b women as (nowledge for wor( or 6formal9 education and not for
communit development or empowerment& With this in mind, it is positive to see that
overall, participation in ICT training courses has seemingl opened up doors for women to
learn and e,pand their (nowledge hori%ons& In fact @8C of women, covering all age and
occupational status groups stated that following these ICT courses, the wished to e,plore
other learning opportunities& -owever, when it comes to the actual practical usage of ICT,
and in particular the Internet as a tool for accessing (nowledge, the current ICT training
courses were perceived as less successful& Although the use of the Internet was a (e
course component in the program, GKC of women were not satisfied with the level of
Internet s(ills gained from the training& 5oreover, as shown in figure 7, >7C of women did
not feel that the training had e*uipped them with the s(ills to use Internet as a tool to
improve their (nowledge&
>

Figure 2: Effectiveness of the Internet in now!edge ac"uisition as recorded b# $artici$ant
women
In support of this finding, information revealed b trainers showed that, while some
women were aware of the prospective benefits of the Internet in regards to (nowledge,
accessing the Internet see(ing (nowledge was limited to purposes of wor( or studies& 4or
women who were neither student nor in the wor(+force, trainers noted that their practical
usage of the internet was revolving around its use as a communication tool& 4ocus groups,
while revealing the same results, shed more light on the reasons behind this& As recorded
b the surve, while K8C of rural women have access to computers, onl 7>C have regular
access to the Internet, the result being that, in the words of one respondent NI use the
Internet to tal( to famil members and friends who live elsewhere& I don)t have time to
loo( for information on this or that&N Such comments show the need for improved access
to the Internet for rural women and also for trainers to wor( in changing perceptions of the
use of Internet as a tool for (nowledge& The benefits of doing so can also be seen in focus
group discussions& 4or the minorit of women who felt that the training had strongl
improved their abilit to gain (nowledge via ICT, numerous benefits were felt to be
present& 4or e,ample, one respondent believed that, NI now have better awareness
regarding information on health, women rights and educational opportunities& I have been
able to find out man things that I did not (now before and now, whenever I need to (now
anthing, I feel confident I am able to easil find an answer, than(s to the Internet&N Such
comments show that when used effectivel, the Internet can have an eminent impact on the
lives and spirits of rural women& It therefore rests on trainers and the design of ICT courses
to show that accessing information should not be seen as a frivolous activit or something
-
onl useful for wor( or stud, but as something that can have a large positive impact on
both individual women)s lives and their communities too&
L&G Economic Empowerment
Increased emploabilit was the second most cited rationale for rural women attending
ICT training courses& 77C of women, 6mainl students and labor+force participants9, stated
this as their main incentive& ICT was seen b women as an enabler to increase their
economic empowerment in terms of earning power and position& This is mainl seen in
terms of additional social status and increased participation in decision ma(ing& As such,
results recorded here will also have an impact on levels of social and hence political
empowerment& At a general level it is encouraging to note that <2C of women, cutting
across the range of age groups and occupational status surveed reported a perceived
positive impact on their li(elihood to be able to find wor(, see figure L and figure G& In
particular, according to focus group discussions, man women felt that the had improved
their communication and interpersonal s(ills& This is important to note as man women
who are not currentl emploed felt that the had benefited in terms of emploabilit
although the did not set out with this aim in mind& 4ormal certification was re*uested b
<2C of women according to surve results& As certificates were also re*uested b women
who were not in the wor(+place, this ma indicate that for man women the training was
seen as a potential chance to access emploment opportunities in the future&

Figure %: Im$act of the ICT training of the em$!o#ed women on their wor When
loo(ing specificall at the 2LC of surve respondents who were in emploment, @LC of
them either NstronglN or Nver stronglN agreed that the ICT training courses had
improved their wor( performance& 4ocus groups also revealed that this effect was most
?
evident for staff members wor(ing for rural women.s organi%ations, perhaps due to the fact
that ICT is a competence lac(ing in man of these organi%ations when the surve was
underta(en& In addition a minorit of women reported improved confidence in the
wor(place due to the increase in s(ills attained through these courses& 4or e,ample, one
woman wor(ing as a local council leader stated, :I used to be timid, and although I was
alread in the council I used not to contribute effectivel in the council activities& With the
training, I can now participate and contribute more in m wor( and feel that I can e,press
m view without hesitation;& Thus it can be seen that the ma!orit of women, whether or
not the were in the paid wor(force, perceived a positive impact in terms of abilit to gain
economic empowerment& -owever it was also shown in focus groups that none of the
women perceived that such s(ills could help them either specificall in starting their own
income generating initiatives or economic initiatives which ma benefit their communit&
Again this is an area on which a greater focus is needed to enable women to become aware
and then to act upon such opportunities&

Figure &: E'$ected im$act if the ICT training on the women income
L&> Social Empowerment
Self confidence was not given as a motive to pursue ICT training b an of the women
participating in this surve& -owever an increase in self+confidence can be seen to be one
of the most important impacts stretching across age groups and occupational status&
Increase in self+confidence can help women to be aware of their own s(ills and
competencies and hence ma(e them more li(el to struggle against social norms and
barriers associated with gender& It is thus ver important to see that one of the ma!or
positive perceptions of the ICT training courses has been an improvement in this aspect&
1,
As shown in figure >, <KC of rural women NstronglN or Nver stronglN agreed with the
statement that their self+confidence had been improved b ICT training& In fact, no
respondents were recorded as disagreeing, showing that this was a (e area of overall
success for current ICT training courses& This strong sentiment was also supported b
focus group findings& 5an felt that, Nthe training course has given us the chance to prove
ourselves and our abilities to be modern, open minded, and to understand man of the ICT
tools that used to be msterious for us as women& This gave us the chance to prove that we
can catch up with something that used to be dominated b men&;
As the above comment shows, it seems that this reported increase in self+confidence stems
from the fact that through this training, women have reali%ed that the can achieve things
that perhaps others felt unattainable& This is particularl the case for older participants, as it
seems societ in general underestimates the abilit of older women to adapt to new
technologies& This was, as shown earlier, even found to be case for some trainers, who
e,pressed surprise at the abilit of older women to learn ICT s(ills& As one trainer
commented, NRecentl I met one of the old women who I had trained and she e,pressed
genuine gratefulness for enabling her to tal( to her son, who is abroad, via the internet& I
was reall surprised + it reall showed me how worthwhile the course is + something I had
not reali%ed before&N
Through underta(ing such courses women are able to prove to themselves and to others
that the are !ust as capable as their male counterparts when given the same opportunities&
As one trainee, aged >@ stated, :Throughout the course we had the opportunit to
strengthen our internal sense of our own competencies and to prove that we can still gain
(nowledge and e,perience in one of the most important aspects of the modern histor;& It
is also interesting that this is the onl area in which there was an age differential in terms
of responses given b rural women& This also supports the fact that age is not the main
determinant in ICT abilit and as such age should not be a (e factor driving the
development of curricula to improve the ICT s(ills of rural women&
11

Figure (: Recorded womens reactions in regards to the im$act of the ICT training on
their se!f)confidence
In addition to this increased self+confidence, man women have reported e,pansion in their
relations with others& This is an encouraging sign, given that onl a small proportion of
women sought ICT training in order to improve their social connections& According to
focus group discussions, man rural women have seen this initiative as a good opportunit
to establish connections and be more social + simpl sociali%ing outside of the house was a
ma!or benefit in some cases, where women face social barriers to participating in activities
outside their houses or villages& In addition to this, and perhaps as a result of increased
self+confidence and s(ills, man women recorded that the had noticed changes in the
perceptions of them in the ees of others& As shown in figure K and ? below, over half of
women surveed felt that the had gained status as a result of participating in the initiative&
5oreover this improved status was felt to be both in terms of the wor(+place, where >KC
of women perceived an improvement in their status among colleagues, and at home where
again >KC of women perceived an increase in their status within the famil& Such
improvements in status show the vital wider impact that ICT training courses can have on
the lives of rural women&
12

Figure *: Recorded womens reactions in regards to the im$act of the ICT training on
their image among their fami!ies
As can be seen from the discussion above, ICT can be an effective empowering tool, able
to impart a valuable influence on the lives of rural women& In some areas, the present
initiative is achieving some of these goals& Women feel that due to ICT training, the have
better emploment options and have usefull enhanced their competencies& The felt
encouraged to underta(e new training courses and considered that their status amongst
colleagues and families has been improved& 5oreover, the self+perception of women has
been positivel impacted, with women feeling the can now achieve things, which others
ma not have thought possible& Such positive effects are vital to the overall success of
these training initiatives&
13

Figure +: Recorded womens reactions in regards to the im$act of the ICT training on
their image among their co!!eagues
G& C$"CB3SI$"
The overall impact of ICT on women.s position as revealed through this research as
reflected in intended and unintended outcomes is to some e,tent positive and heartening&
The stud demonstrated that the ma!orit of participants see( to obtain ICT training with
the intention to enhance the *ualit of their lives through ac*uiring (nowledge, enhancing
their emploment position and earning power, or enhancing their emploment
opportunities& The analsis has revealed that the ma!orit of women, whether in
emploment or not, did perceive a positive impact in terms of abilit to gain economic
empowerment& What loo(s to be less emphasi%ed b women is the abilit to use ICT as a
tool for societal and communit development, and to some e,tent as networ(ing and
sociali%ation means&
$n the personal level, an increase in self+confidence, sensed b most women regardless of
their age or occupational status, has emerged as a significant unintended outcome of the
initiative& <KC of rural women either NstronglN or Nver stronglN felt that their self+
confidence had improved due to the initiative& The development of this sentiment b
women restored their awareness in their capabilities and competencies and hence made
them more determined to struggle against social norms and barriers associated with gender&
$ne pitfall of the initiative was that mastering the basic ICT s(ills were seen as the end
goal and not as an instrument to sensibl improve the lives of rural women and their
1;
communities& >7C of women did not feel that training had e*uipped them with the s(ills to
use Internet as a tool to improve their (nowledge& It therefore rests on trainers and those
who design ICT courses to show that accessing (nowledge should not be seen as a trivial
activit or something onl useful for wor( or stud, but as something that can have a large
positive impact on both individual women)s lives and their communities& But this is not
sufficient& In order for ICT to contribute to the lives of women in this wa, rural women
also re*uire improved access to the Internet& The minorit of women who felt that the
training had strongl improved their abilit to gain (nowledge via ICT had benefited in
several was from access to its information and communication capabilities&
AC/"$WBE1#5E"T
Sincere than(s are e,tended to the 3"I4E5 organi%ation, 'alestine, and the Relief
International Schools on Bine, for their provision of the necessar resources to accomplish
the wor(& Suad Abu+/amleh, from 3"I4E5, Iawad Abu $wn, 1avina Ieffer, and "aser
Arda, from RI+S$B, and $la Sbehat, from the Arab American 3niversit, contributed
significantl and without their help, this wor( would never have been completed&
RE4ERE"CES
Abbasi, O& 4& 678829& 'ro+'oor and #ender Sensitive Information TechnologD 'olic and
'ractice&. E!ectronic ,ub!ication, httpDHHwww&comminit&comHst7887Hsld+K@G>&html
-af(in, "& I& 678889& Convergence of ConceptsD #ender and ICTs in Africa& In E- .- Rathgeber
and E- /- 0dera 1eds-2 123332 4ender and the Information Revo!ution in 0frica- /ttawa:
Internationa! 5eve!o$ment Research Centre 1I5RC26 Cha$ter 1&
htt':@@(((.idrc.ca@)oo1s@focus@?,3@,;:ch',1.html
-uer, S& 62<<?9& Supporting Women.s 3se of Information Technologies for Sustainable
1evelopment& I5RC, htt':@@(((.idrc.ca@acacia@out'uts@(omenicts.html
5arcelle, #& 678889& ICTs = development P ma(ing it happen& In 5- 7ush 8 9- Rushwa#a 1eds-2
123332 Into or /ut of the 5igita! 5ivide: ,ers$ectives on ICTs and 5eve!o$ment in :outhern
0frica& 'anos Southern Africa& htt':@@(((.'anos.org.3m@marcelle.htm
5itter, S& = Rowbotham S& 62<<>9& Women Encounter TechnologD Changing 'attern of
Emploment in the Third World& 7ondon and ;ew<our: Rout!edge&
htt':@@(((.unu.edu@unu'ress@unu')oo1s@uu3>(e@uu3>(e,,.htmAContents
5unua, -& 678889& Application of ICTs in Africa)s Agricultural SectorD A #ender 'erspective& In
E- .- Rathgeber and E- /- 0dera 1eds-2 123332 4ender and the Information Revo!ution in 0frica-
/ttawa: Internationa! 5eve!o$ment Research Centre 1I5RC26 Cha$ter &&
htt':@@(((.idrc.ca@)oo1s@focus@?,3@,>:ch',;.html
"ingo, "& 62<<<9& ICT and Sustainable #ood #overnance in Sub+Saharan AfricaD Countering the
-egemonic 1rive for 'ower& =ashington 5C: =or!d >an, htt':@@(((.(orld)an1.org@
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$bi!iofor, B& 62<<@9& 4uture of Communication in Africa)s 1evelopment& Futures, L867HL9, 2K2+2?G
$dedra+Straub, 5& 62<<>9& Women and Information Technolog in Sub+Saharan AfricaD A Topic
for 1iscussion& In :- .itter and :- Rowbotham 1eds-2 11??(2 =omen Encounter Techno!og#:
Changing ,atterns of Em$!o#ment in the Third =or!d- 7ondon: Rout!edge, pp& 7>K+7??
$po(u+5ensah, A& 678889& ICTs as Tools of 1emocrati%ationD African Women Spea( $ut& In E-
.- Rathgeber and E- /- 0dera 1eds-2 123332 4ender and the Information Revo!ution in 0frica-
/ttawa: Internationa! 5eve!o$ment Research Centre 1I5RC26 Cha$ter +&
htt':@@(((.idrc.ca@)oo1s@focus@?,3@1,:ch',>.html
'WR1C, 6788@9& httpDHHwww&pwrdc&psHinde,&php
Rabaah, /& 6788@9& Wh do women in rural areas see( ICT trainingD An evaluation of ICT
training initiative targeting women in rural area in 'alestine& I05I: ICT6 :ociet# and 9uman
>eings 233@ 1ICT 233@2 Conference, Amsterdam, -olland, ?@+@>&
Rathgeber, E& 5& and E& $& Adera 6eds&9 678889 #ender and the Information Revolution in Africa&
$ttawaD International 1evelopment Research Centre 6I1RC9,
htt':@@(((.idrc.ca@)oo1s@focus@?,3@
Sharma, C& 678829& 3sing ICTs to Create $pportunities for 5arginali%ed Women and 5enD The
'rivate Sector and Communit Wor(ing Together& =ashington6 5C: =or!d >an 7882&
htt':@@(((.(orld)an1.org@'o0erty@0oices@glo)coal@cs'res.htm
Strom/uist B. +2,,3.. 7omen* Education and Em'o(erment. The Theoretical and Practical
Bases for Development & #oogle boo(, p& G>&
3nwin T& 6788@9& Information and Communication in development practices& ICT&5: Information
and Communication Techno!og# for 5eve!o$ment, Cambridge 3niversit 'ress, 788<, chapter L,
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