KABUL (SW) – Majority of the women interviewed by Salam Watandar said they have no or very little knowledge of the technology in their day-to-day lives.
Salam Watandar’s analysis of interviews with 42 women shows that these women are not familiar enough with technology and its tools. Among these women, 9 of them have no knowledge of technology tools and 33 others consider technology to be limited to having smartphones. Among the interviewed women, 15 live in Kabul and 27 live in different provinces.
These women add that poverty, illiteracy, lack of awareness, restrictions, child marriages, and civil wars have prevented them from becoming more familiar with technology.
Sharifa, from Kapisa province, who is 41 years old, said that she cannot use technology tools due to her illiteracy. “I myself don’t have any smart or simple mobile phone. Only my children have mobile phone. At home, when necessary, they call and give it to me, because I am not literate, I don’t know how to use it; when my children are not at home, I face problems.”
Family restrictions are also among the issues that caused a number of women to not to be able to use technological tools. Najia, a resident of Faryab province, who faces family restrictions when it comes to mobile phone and computer use, says: “We can’t use any technology because I don’t know it. We live in the countryside and we don’t even have permission to have a phone, a computer, and these devices that we don’t know at all. I’m interested in learning technology, but there aren’t any facilities available.”
Malalai Sahibzada, a resident of Kabul, and Zar Banu, a resident of Kunduz, say that the civil wars in the country and the lack of access to technological tools have made these women unable to have knowledge about technology and its use.
“From the time we were born until we grew up, there has been foreign invasion and civil wars, and this has caused us to have no knowledge of technology, and we don’t even know how to use smart phones,” said Malalai.
“I didn’t use the technology myself, but I saw others using it. I don’t know what the technology is and how it is used. I think that technology is called the same electrical poles as the TV antennas, maybe they are the same because I don’t know. However, I’m very interested in understanding what technology is, why it is used for, and what conveniences it brings to us and our lives,” said Zar Banu.
Among the interviewed women, some 33 use only smart phones among all technological tools, and 11 of them say that the use of smart phones and its programs has had positive effects on their daily lives.
Fariba Amini, a teacher in Samangan province, says that she uses her smart phone to manage her personal and work life. She explains: “It has been 6 years that I’ve been using mobile phone for communication and the fact that I’m a teacher myself and I have to be in touch with my students and their families, I still use my mobile phone for teaching materials and communication among students.” himself.”
Hadisa, one of the girls interviewed for this report, says that by using smart mobile phones in addition to communication and education, she has also boosted her business affairs. “I use mobile phone in all aspects of my life, such as communication and education, but it has made it easier for me in my work affairs, because I am a tailor, I can use my mobile phone to get clothing catalogs and sort it out.”
On the other hand, 3 of the women interviewed in this report say that they use technology tools in a limited way, and only use smart phones for simple communication with their family and friends.
Tamana, one of these women said: “I have been using smart phone for two years. I use my mobile phone to chat with my husband, and I don’t use it any other way. The only way we can use it is to take pictures with our family.”
Among the 33 women who have limited use of technology tools, 4 of them say that they cannot use smart phones due to cultural barriers and restrictions. They add that this restriction has been imposed on them by their families and society.
Mursal from Takhar, said: “I only use my mobile phone when I’m at home, and when I go out, I don’t take it with me at all because people gossip and say that the young girl has a mobile phone. In Takhar province, most girls don’t have mobile phones until they get engaged and get married.”
Khadija, a resident of Sar-e Pol, also said: “I would be very happy to use a mobile phone, but we are not allowed to have it until we get engaged or married. The use of a mobile phone is related to the person, whether uses it positively or negatively.”
On the other hand, 12 women who have access to technological tools, say that high costs and low quality of internet packages have challenged them when using them.
Diba, a resident of Kabul, said: “We still don’t have access to many advanced devices that exist in the world and we only have access to the mobile phones and computers, but the high costs of internet is the reason that we cannot use these tools properly.”
Roqiya Hussaini, from Herat, who has faced the same challenges, also mentions, “In this age that we live in, it is necessary to have a mobile phone; but the internet packages are very expensive, and according to their price, the service is very poor. Compared to other countries in the world, the price of the internet in Afghanistan is very high.”
Some women utilizing technological tools, expressed their fear of vulnerabilities to cyber attacks. Hadisa, one of these women, said, “We, as women, are all concerned about the rapid advancements in technology. We worry about malicious individuals hacking our phones, accessing our WhatsApp messages, and even our personal photos. This poses a serious threat to women, and we are anxious about it.”
Another woman, Zarghona also explained: “Indeed, there are concerns. Sometimes, I am asked to install another WhatsApp account, which raises worries about my data being hacked.”
Despite these concerns, women’s rights activists and social affairs experts emphasize the crucial need for women’s access to technology for societal advancement.
“Today, all progress is based on technological knowledge,” said Soraya Paikan, a women’s rights activist. “It was good when women used to have better access to knowledge and technology, but now the general society is deprived of scientific and technical knowledge. In a country like Afghanistan, where women are not given opportunities for education, how can they become familiar with technological advancements?” she continued.
Shafiqullah Ansar, a social affairs expert, stated, “Women form a significant part of society. If they are knowledgeable about technology, they can significantly contribute to education and development. With minimal costs, they can achieve great progress. Women who lack scientific and technological knowledge, because the are mostly in the role of child-rearing, it leads to a less educated society.”
On the other hand, Khobaib Ghofran, spokesperson for the Ministry of Information and Culture, tells Salam Watandar that they are working to implement technology and social media use according to Islamic principles through positive programs.
“The ministry’s studies show that technology has significantly impacted people’s lifestyles. However, in the past 20 years, technological use sometimes deviated from Afghan and Islamic culture. Now, the ministry is conducting programs and seminars to promote Afghan and Islamic culture within society,” he added.
Additionally, Jalaluddin Shams, spokesperson for the Afghanistan Telecom Regulatory Authority (ATRA), informs Salam Watandar that there are 25 million mobile phone users in Afghanistan, with 13 million having internet access. However, precise data on the registration of SIM cards under women’s names is lacking.
“In a society like Afghanistan, men typically register SIM cards in their names and provide them to their families. Thus, there is no accurate data on the registration of SIM cards under women’s names,” he said.
It is worth noting that familiarity with and use of technological tools have become essential needs in modern society. In Afghanistan, especially among women, this matter comes with specific challenges and limitations. Traditional culture, social constraints, and unequal access to education are factors that hinder women’s adequate understanding and effective use of technology.
