Digital Dispossession and Gendered Discrimination in Use of Smartphone by Women in Marginal Settings in India

Abstract

Women are becoming avid user of mobile phones and are increasingly turning to technology to up-skill themselves which offers scope to reduce gender inequalities even in marginal settings. Technology has ushered in a development offering which holds tangible promise to reduce social barriers by providing training that boosts proficiency. Digital media offers scope and opportunities of reshaping systemic gendered imbalances of social structure. Women, in marginalized settings, hemmed in by deeply rooted patriarchal structures may find emancipation by use of the digital technologies in their everyday routine which may accelerate restructuring of their social and cultural realities. The role of digital media in struggle for women’s inclusion in the civil society and gender equality has been considered as emancipatory. This is particularly so because technology provides an avenue for women’s engagement where their physical mobility is restricted and voices deliberately muted. However, patterns of social attitudes may underpin internet cultures if viewed through a gendered prism. There is a persistent gender gap in mobile phone ownership and usage in the low income setting areas and women tend to experience certain barriers more acutely than men. This deprivation in terms of being unconnected widens the gap of marginalization. The present study is an attempt to explore entry of digital technologies in a given culture of slum area in urban settings and subsequent negotiations for the concomitant changes in the discriminatory roles and responses. Two research objectives that have been explored are- factors that engender marginalisation of women and their gendered aspects constraining their digital literacy and competency; the second objective is to describe disruptive impact of digital devices on traditional gender roles and responsibilities that determine the relationships and status in the family. A sizeable percentage of the slum dwellings have electricity, television and smartphones even though lacking toilets. The paper uses qualitative method and tools of observation, focus group discussions and interviews to study mobile and smartphone usage of women living in slums to capture their everyday mobile experience and internet adoption in the context of existing gender inequalities. The study finds that power dynamics within the household play roles that mark digital in/exclusion and (dis) empowerment. It is obvious that digital divide exists even among marginalised as do categorical differences because women are conditioned to accept and continue male dominance in subtle ways. Augmenting the efforts to provide digital literacy and competency to marginalised women may turn out to be real game changer in bringing about social change.