The Sada Says 'We Women Have Our Rights': A Gender Analysis of an ICT Initiative in Afghanistan

This study jointly authored by Ami Sengupta, Esther G. Long, Arvind Singhal, and Corinne L. Shefner-Rogers analyses Voice for Humanity's (VFH) Sada initiative to promote women's rights, citizen participation and civic education during the Afghan parliamentary elections in 2005. A qualitative assessment was conducted to gain an in-depth understanding of how Afghan women, in particular, utilized the Sada device. This research, positioned within current literature on information communication technology (ICT) and gender, views the Sada device — a solar-powered digital audio player (similar to an MP3 player) — as an ICT. Universally, women have unequal access to ICTs, yet the findings of this study suggest that projects such as this one in Afghanistan can play a powerful role in promoting women's rights. The findings reiterate that information dissemination, spurred by a suitable technology, can lead to family and community dialog. Such dialog, coupled with a more enabling environment for women's concerns, can contribute to women's empowerment and realization of women's human rights.

International Communication Gazette, August 2007 vol. 69 no. 4 335-353