Stuck in the middle: Women and the struggle for survival in the oil-degraded Niger Delta

Abstract

abstract This focus examines the relevance of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) as economic and empowering mechanisms for women in the oil degraded Niger Delta region of Nigeria. While ICTs have become increasingly popular in the region and have provided economic niches for women, influence of ICTs has differed significantly between urban and rural women. Therefore, while urban women are now heavily engaged in various ICT businesses, like call centres and cyber cafés, the economic degeneration and underdevelopment of the rural enclaves have limited the commercial viability of ICTs for women. In spite of this, ICTs are important in both rural and urban areas in the region in terms of improving the knowledge base of women and enabling them to articulate their positions. Generally, the effective usage of ICTs, whether for leisure or commercial purposes, has been limited by structural constraints ranging from dearth of electricity to impoverished economic situations of women. However, the different impact of ICTs on women in urban and rural areas calls for a policy orientation that is conversant with the peculiar needs of women in both areas and the improvement of the general socio-economic situation of the rural enclaves.