Gender Evaluation Methodology Report

GENDER EVALUATION METHODOLOGY REPORT

January 1st, 2004

ICTs AS TOOLS FOR WOMEN’S EMPOWEMENT: AN EVALUATION OF

MUBENDE RURAL WOMEN’S INFORMATION UNIT USING THE

GENDER EVALUATION METHODOLOGY (GEM)

Juliet Were / Isis-Wicce

Justification of the project:

Communication is ‘a social process, designed to seek a common understanding among all the participants of a development initiative, creating a basis for concerted action’[1]. Information and communication technology are therefore useful tools for facilitating this process, but should not be considered as an end in themselves.

For communication to give a voice to rural women, they need to have access to communication channels and media that are relevant to their situations and needs.

Isis-Women’s International Cross Cultural Exchange (Isis-WICCE) is an action oriented women’s resource centre that was established in 1974 with the aim of strengthening communicative mechanisms among women organisations worldwide, enabling women to share information, ideas and experiences in order to improve their status and overcome gender inequality. In 1993, Isis-WICCE relocated to Africa from Europe with an objective of developing relevant, efficient and effective mechanisms of generating and disseminating information about women in Africa, in order to make their issues visible to the global debates and agenda.

Isis-WICCE envisions an informed society that values and ensures women’s rights, and promotes the full realisation of their capacities and potential. It is upon this background that Isis-WICCE after its relocation to Uganda, and recognising the diversity of women’s information needs especially in rural areas developed rural women’s information units.

The project profile:

GEM Testing Profile

Name of Initiative

/ A Rural Women’s Information Unit
Project Holder/s or Lead Organisation / Isis-Women’s International Cross Cultural Exchange
(Isis-WICCE)
Objectives of the Project / to empower women in the use of ICTs in information generation and dissemination
to enable women leaders access information for their empowerment and that of other women in the community
to avail women leaders a central space where they can meet, exchange ideas and share experiences
to instill a culture of using information in women’s day to day activities

Expected Outputs

/ women leaders would acquire skills of using ICTs to generate and disseminate information about the rights of women in their communities.
Increase in knowledge on issues that affect the lives of women.
Formulation of effective strategies to lobby policy makers to address issues of concern to women.
Ability to demand for information for their day to day activities.
women leaders would be able to form networks with women in other parts of the country.
Project Components/Activities / Information Provision
Generation of information on women’s issues
Utilisation of ICTs (tape recorders, video, drama) in the collection and dissemination of information
Sensitization meetings/seminars for sharing information and ideas

Target Audience

/ Women Leaders in Mubende district

Duration of the Project

/ On-going
GEM Testing Contact Person (s)/Details / Ruth Ojiambo Ochieng
Information and Documentation Coordinator
Juliet Were
Asst. Programme Officer – Information and
Documentation
General Evaluation Goals / To assess how the services have enhanced women leaders in addressing issues concerning women in the community.
To assess the performance of the unit in the fulfillment of the project objectives

Specific Gender Goals

/ To assess how the women leaders have utilized the information unit to address women’s concerns
To highlight the unique values ICTs have added to the empowerment of women
To identify project areas that need strengthening
Gender and ICT issues to be addressed in the evaluation / Availability and accessibility of ICTs to women leaders
Usefulness of the available ICTs to women’s day to day activities
Extent to which the available ICTs are being utilized by women leaders
Indicators used for the evaluation / How have the ICTs assisted women leaders in addressing women’s issues?
no. of women leaders using ICTs to address women’s issues
no. of cases documented using ICTs (quantitative)
no. of women in the community using their information unit
increased participation of women leaders in debates (qualitative)
policy change to address women’s rights issues (qualitative)
Is the information disseminated relevant to the needs of women?
Issues covered in the drama/video shows (quantitative)
No. of women who have utilized information in their day to day activities
Methodologies used in the evaluation / Literature review (records in the unit, recorded tapes, and observation)
In-depth interviews
Focus group discussions
Timeline of the Evaluation Process / 9 months

The Gender Evaluation Methodology:

In November 2002, Isis-WICCE was among the six organisations selected to test the Gender Evaluation Methodology (GEM)[2] in Africa. The ICT initiative that Isis-WICCE identified for evaluation was the Mubende Rural Women’s Information Unit.

Background to Rural Women’s Information Units in Uganda:

The 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action called for the empowerment of women by enhancing their skills, knowledge and access to information and communication technology as a way of strengthening their ability to combat negative portrayals of women and challenge instances of abuse of power. Isis-WICCE in response to this call set up rural women’s information units in three districts in Uganda (Mubende, Iganga and Luweero), to enable women leaders at the grassroots in Uganda to have a central place where they could meet and acquire skills in generating, processing and disseminating information of concern to women’s issues, using different means of communication.

The Information Units utilise both old and new information and communication technologies, which include; drama, radio, tape recorders, mobile telephones, television, photocopier, computer and video to generate, process and disseminate information within the communities. The unit targets women leaders at the local level and one of the women leaders serves as a volunteer in charge of the unit.

Mubende Rural Women’s Information Unit:

Mubende Rural Women’s Information Unit was set up in 1998 in conjunction with Buwekula Women’s Development Association (BWDA), a community based organisation in BuwekulaSub-County in Mubende district. BWDA was founded in 1992 after realising that the rate of poverty in the sub-county was due to lack of relevant information, knowledge, skills and capital to invest in viable projects. The group carries out the following activities; local revolving loans scheme, HIV/AIDs awareness and prevention, skills building, sustainable agriculture, women’s rights awareness, and the nutrition and early childhood project.

Buwekula Women’s Development Association has successfully utilised the ICTs available in the unit in implementing the above named activities. It is upon this background that Isis-WICCE identified Mubende Rural Women’s Information Unit, because of its uniqueness in using the various technologies and its being rural based.

Objectives of the Evaluation:

The objectives of carrying out an evaluation of the Mubende Rural Women’s Information Unit were:

• To document the best practices in the use of ICTs by women leaders

• To identify areas of strengthening the use of ICTs by women leaders

Methodology

Reconnaissance Visit:

A reconnaissance visit to Mubende was done on 16th and 17th September 2003. The purpose of the visit was;

• To meet with a cross section of women leaders from Buwekuula Women’s Development Association and introduce the proposed evaluation

• To discuss various issues relevant to the evaluation such as identification of the interviewees and drawing up a plan for the evaluation exercise.

• To explain to the volunteer in charge of the information unit the details regarding the evaluation.

Selection of Interviewees:

The interviewees were purposefully selected. They included women leaders who had had access to the ICTs both from the units and outside the units, and those who did not have access. The objective was to use the group that had no access to ICTs as a control group to measure the level of empowerment among those who use ICTs in their day to day activities.

Questionnaire:

See Appendix A

The Isis-WICCE team developed a questionnaire that was shared with the Mubende women leaders, and later translated into Luganda (the area local language).

Field Data Collection:

The data collection was carried out in the week of 13th – 18th October 2003.

Female Case Studies:

The individual questionnaire was administered to 15 female case studies.

Informants:

Five individual males were interviewed as a control group to justify the impact ICTs may have to the empowerment of women.

Focus Group Discussion:

One focus group discussion consisting of members of Buwekula Women Development Association was held.

Evaluation Team:

The team consisted of the following;

Name / Title
Ruth Ojiambo Ochieng / Director/Information & Documentation Coordinator
Jessica B. Nkuuhe / Associate Director/Exchange Programme Coordinator
Juliet Were Oguttu / Asst. Programme Officer
Information and Documentation
Harriet Nabukeera Musoke / Asst. Programme Officer;
Exchange Programme
Jimmy Mukasa / Finance Officer
Hawa Semakula / Field Coordinator

Limitations:

Financial Resources:

• The budget allocated to the evaluation was very minimal compared to the initial plan of action. This therefore called for the redesigning of the methodology to fit within the available resources. This as a result limited the level of professionalism in carrying out the evaluation.

Time Frame:

• The inability to acquire resources on time also affected the delivering of the outcome on the agreed time given that the project required fieldwork, travels and consultations before conducting the evaluation.

FINDINGS:

Information and Communication is key to the empowerment of women in all aspects and therefore ICTs are a means of enhancing this process. Given that women and men play different roles, communication strategies and tools need to reflect their diverse needs and priorities.

The findings of this evaluation revealed that ICTs can give rural women a voice to advocate for change in policies, attitudes and social behaviour or customs that negatively affect them. The findings also revealed that these tools can help women exchange experiences and learn from each other, find common ground for decisions, take more control of their lives and add value to their role as active partners in rural and sustainable development.

It was also observed that ICTs can promote changes in attitudes and social behaviour and help communities to identify sustainable opportunities and development solutions that are within their reach.

Women’s Information Needs:

The information needs of the women leaders compared to those of ordinary women in the community did not vary much. They indicated need for information on improved farming methods, women’s rights, women’s sexual and reproductive health, access to credit, child rights and health, communication and leadership skills, management of women’s groups, home care, relationships, counselling, and women’s legal rights.

Information Dissemination and Collection:

For generations, rural populations living in isolated villages without access to modern technologies have relied on the spoken word and traditional means of communication as a means of generating information and sharing knowledge. For illiterate women in particular, information exchange solely depended on local festivities and faith based institutions to access and disseminate information.

The findings revealed that the women leaders mainly used drama and person to person form of communication in disseminating and collecting information on issues of concern to women. The person-to-person form of communication which included letter writing, local council meetings, women groups meetings and physical visits, door to door, among others was still very prevalent. This is attributed to the fact that these women do not have access to the technologies. Women leaders further revealed that this form of communication has advantages and disadvantages as explained below;

Advantages of Person to Person Communication:

“ I was able to meet other women in our group meetings and learnt that women can work together. This has built my self esteem and I have been able to take on other leadership roles’. Imelda Namusisi

“Seminars have enabled me to change the way I do things. I have acquired leadership skills and have been able to share information with fellow women in my community”. I am able to plan for my time effectively. Those days I would wake up without a plan on what to do.” Robinah Sebunya.

Disadvantages of Person to Person communication:

“It is very difficult to distribute letters when you do not have transport. Most times you send the letters using individuals and the letters may never reach the intended recipient. So there is a breakdown in communication and it is quite cumbersome.” Filomenna Nantumbwe.

“The bureaucracy in calling a Local Council Meeting is cumbersome. You have to write a letter to the Chairperson who then circulates it to members to seek their approval of date and time. By the time this process is finalised, the issue that needed to be discussed has been overtaken by events. It is very unfriendly especially when advocating for women’s rights related issues that need immediate action”. Florence Nakimuli.

ICTs used by women leaders:

The evaluation revealed that 33% of the respondents used drama, 16% mobile telephone, TV/Video 15%, Tape Recorder 4%, Radio 2%, Camera 1%, landline telephone 0%, and 29% person to person (this included seminars, women groups meetings, Local council meetings, church announcements, physical visits from door to door, letter writing and other social gatherings).

The respondents indicated that drama was the most effective ICT tool as indicated below:

‘My husband and I attended a drama show on inheritance and will writing. When we went back home, my husband wrote his will and apportioned his property using the guidelines stated on the form and kept it with his close friend. A year later, he died. His brothers and relatives were ready to grab property but at the burial, the will was read and I was very happy. Nobody dared to take any single property.’Nandyose Peninah

Other individual women who had utilised the telephone and video also found it very effective as indicated below:

‘My child who had been selected for a job interview would have missed the interview if I did not have a mobile phone. One of my friends in Kampala called me to inform me of the date, which was the next day… She sat [at] the interview and came out as the best and was given the job. The letter inviting her for the job interview reached Mubende after two weeks.’ Hawa Semakula.

However, much as the use of mobile telephones, video, tape recorder, radio and camera were low (below 16%), the women had a high level of understanding that these tools were very effective if they had access as narrated by the respondents below.

“If all women had telephones, my work as a leader would be very efficient and effective. However, the women cannot afford it”. Hawa Semakula

“Telephone is good for immediate action especially on domestic violence and girl child marriages. If I had a telephone and learnt that a girl child was being married off, I would call the law enforcement officers to come and arrest the parents without the members of the community knowing that I was the one who alerted the police”. Imelda Namusisi

‘I have realised that a tape recorder is a very important tool if I had one. I have been getting a lot of testimonies which I should have recorded and used to take action.’ Farida Najjuma

‘Much as I have no access, I know that a computer is faster” Olive Nakatte.

Training:

The findings revealed that 95% of the women had not acquired any formal training in the use of the various ICTs. Most of them received a few hours of instruction upon purchase of for example a telephone, radio, tape recorder, and television sets. For those who received training in drama it was a very short period of one week and for computers, it ranged from two weeks to one month. However, in the case of computers, because of lack of practise most of them confessed that they have lapsed back. The graph below gives a reflection of trained women in the use of ICTs.

Level of Empowerment:

The level of empowerment gained varied from one woman leader to another and it depended on the type of tool used. Below are some of the extracts on how the ICTs had impacted on the lives of the women leaders and the women in the communities.

Breaking Isolation:

“The drama has enabled me to break the isolation among women who never wanted to attend any meetings out of their homes. Drama attracts them as entertainment. I use this opportunity to give them educative talks and encourage them to attend meetings. They are now very active in meetings.” Nakabiri Robinah

Another woman leader had this to say:

“Through drama I have been able to visit women in other communities when we go to act. It has also given me the confidence to speak in public and build my self esteem.” Mrs Sebunya Robinah

“Seminars have enabled women to appreciate that the problems they experience do not affect them alone. They now willingly take on advise from leaders and work towards improving their situation. For those who were initially negative to attending seminars, they have also started attending after realising the value added to those who attend.”

Legal Redress:

One women leader indicated how a tape recorder had enabled her access legal redress as testified below;

“One day a young man stool [stole] my cows. This man kept on informing his friends that nobody could be able to know that he was the thief and keep track of him. This information was passed over to me by one of his friends. I convinced the friend to go with my small tape recorder and record the information related to the theft. The friend put the tape recorder in his coat and the thief started talking about the incident and all the proceedings were recorded. So I went to the police and reported the case. When I was asked for evidence I produced my tape and the boy was arrested. He confessed, was charged and agreed to pay back my cows which he has already done”. Sheba Kanyesigye.