Marginalized Knowledge: An Agenda for Indigenous Knowledge Development and Integration with Other Forms of Knowledge

Activity	Always		Often		Some- Times		Never		N/a		Av=% 4+3+2
P-Value
	SA	K	SA	K	SA	K	SA	K	SA	K	SA	K
To listen to news	157	121	12	35	14	26	12	12	5	6	91.5	91.0	0.8596
In touch with family and friends	160	85	2	35	8	54	24	20	6	6	85.0	87.0	0.5647
Entertainment	88	117	35	42	20	30	47	6	10	5	71.5	94.5	0.0000
To fax doc.	41	11	17	5	30	16	90	162	22	6	44.0	16.0	0.0000
Data proc.	38	9	5	6	15	31	115	147	27	7	29.0	23.0	0.1721
For research purposes	20	7	15	13	18	73	130	103	17	4	26.5	46.5	0.0431
E-commerce/ Trade	10	10	13	4	18	20	118	160	41	6	20.5	17.0	0.3704
Contact business Support Agen.	25	12	3	14	10	46	138	123	24	5	19.0	36.0	0.0002
Internet/ related serv.	20	3	6	7	12	34	160	152	2	4	19.0	22.0	0.4578
Distance Education	28	11	5	20	6	46	134	120	27	3	16.5	38.5	0.0000

(4) (3) (2) (1)

Survey findings indicated that an average of 91.5% of the respondents in both rural KZN (South Africa) and rural RVP (Kenya) felt that ICTs (particularly the radio and TV) play a major role in informing women about current events within and beyond their borders. This was followed closely by the need to keep in touch with family and friends (81.0% in South Africa and 87.0% in Kenya). For this purpose, the mobile phone was cited as particularly useful by the respondents. As mentioned earlier on, the cell-phone has a clear advantage over the telephone. In South Africa, 15% use it compared to 10.2% who use the telephone, while in Kenya, it is used by 12.8% of the respondents, while the telephone is only used by 4.0%.

Other social factors cited as important by the respondents include the ability to listen to music and other entertaining programs. With the help of ICTs, this service recorded the highest result overall, with 94.0% for Kenya and 71.5% for South Africa.
3.4 ICT resources used by rural women

The use of “old” technologies, such as radio and TV, is high in all sectors (i.e. education, health, agriculture, social welfare and business) of South Africa. This is in stark contrast to the paltry use of modern technologies such as the computer/Internet. The use of the radio alone scored an average of 73.4%, while the use of the TV averaged 39.2% amongst the rural respondents. Compared to 10.2% who used the landline telephone, the mobile phone scored reasonably well, as 15.0% used it for their information needs.

In Kenya, the prevalence of old technologies (i.e. radio and TV) was also high in all sectors (i.e. education, health, agriculture, social welfare and business). Survey findings indicated that the radio alone scored an average of 74.4%, while the TV averaged 37.8%. Again, this is in stark contrast to modern technologies such as the computer/internet, which scored an insignificant 1.0%. The mobile phone (12.8%) scored considerably well against the telephone, which garnered only 4.0% of the respondents.

4 Discussions: Challenges and opportunities

Problems of access and exclusion are still apparent, particularly with regard to the use of computers and the internet in both countries. These views are confirmed by Marker, Wallace and McNamara (2002:12), who argue that poor infrastructure, the unreliability of ICTs, and high costs are major challenges facing ICT development in developing countries. Similarly, in support of the low use of modern technologies such as the computer/internet, Emdom in Parkinson (2005:46) argues that high cost, and to a lesser degree, the low quality of internet connectivity, are challenges that have severely limited or blocked efforts to offer the internet to rural schools and rural communities in South Africa.

It has also been noted that problems of access and exclusion in rural areas are compounded by an insufficient assessment of local conditions. For instance, authors such as Ballantyne, Labelle, and Rudgard (2000:2) argue that the use of the Internet is constrained in developing countries by the low provision of appropriate content, both in terms of language and subject matter. By the same token, Bridges.org (2001), denote that “real access” to technology is one of the key elements necessary for integrating technology into society. In other words, is the technology in question available, physically accessible and affordable?
Notably, most rural women are still educationally disadvantaged, a fact supported by the survey results, which illustrate that 31% [of the respondents] in rural KZN (South Africa) and 35.5% in rural RVP (Kenya) had obtained primary education alone. This is in addition to the fact that 42 (21%) respondents in South Africa and 32 (16%) respondents in rural RVP (Kenya) identified computer illiteracy as an impeding factor to accessing ICTs. Hafkin and Taggart (2001:1) also argue that women are unable to benefit from the knowledge economy as they lack scientific and technical education. Other challenges, as cited by the respondents in South Africa, though insignificant, revealed a general feeling of apathy, and include lack of electrical power (13; 6.5%), untrustworthiness (8; 4.0%) and poor TV and radio networks (10; 5.0%). Additional challenges to ICT access in rural RVP (Kenya) include cultural taboos (23; 11.5%) and poor road networks (16; 8.0%).

Although the use of the fax machine (44%) stood out as an important activity, particularly in South Africa, it scored dismally in Kenya (16.0%). Furthermore, not many rural women use ICTs for activities such as data processing and e-commerce. E-commerce scored a low average of 20.5% in rural KZN (SA) and 17.0% in rural RVP (Kenya), and data processing garnered 29.0% in rural KZN (SA) and 23.0% in rural RVP (Kenya). As pointed out by Marcelle (2002:3), advanced applications such as e-commerce can only be supported by appropriate infrastructure and sound supporting policies. According to Marcelle, 85% of the world’s commerce websites are US-based, and not many people possess visa cards.

Needless to say, there are enormous opportunities to be gained from the use and development of ICTs. For instance, the World Bank (2002: ix) states that access to information and communication technologies is crucial for economic development and poverty reduction, affecting poverty reduction in three significant ways, i.e.: ICTs increase the efficiency and global competitiveness of the economy in growth and development; ICTs enable the better delivery of public services in areas such as health and education; and ICTs create new sources of income.
Batchelor, Scott and Taylor (2005:9), underscore the importance of the mobile phone, arguing that villagers are willing to pay up to $1 per minute to make essential calls. This is because cellular technologies are versatile and transcend poverty and geographical boundaries. According to the authors, cellular technologies provide access to crop prices, market information, and currency rates. For instance, mobile initiatives in Kenya are successful as they provide an opportunity to link ICTs with sustainable livelihoods in activities such as agriculture, pastoralism, entrepreneurship, and information regarding employment. According to Wainaina (2005:25-28), the use of mobile phone text messaging for the provision of market prices, employment vacancy alerts, and local news to disadvantaged communities and slum dwellers, invaluably contributes toward poverty reduction. Examples include SokoniSMS, which empowers farmers through an SMS market price service launched by the Kenyan Agricultural Commodity Exchange (KACE) in 1997; Simu ya Jamii [family phones] Community Phone services, which are small scale businesses that run mobile telephone kiosks with the help of Safaricom limited and other local micro-finance organizations; and the CommunityNews Service (situated in the heart of slum dwellers), which sends regular messages relating to health, sanitation, business advice and scholarship opportunities to over 3,000 residents in Kenya’s largest informal settlement (i.e. Kibera). For the most part, the success of these cell-phone initiatives can also be attributed to their ability to simplify the provision of services and also promote economic activity (The Panos Institute, 2004:1-4).

The radio also plays a crucial role in enhancing the social and welfare standards of marginalised rural woman. IIboudo (2003:206-208) affirms that the radio has the capacity to enable the broad participation of men and women within a local community because it is cheap and can be used to disseminate information in a variety of languages and in geographically distant or restricted areas. Ranchod (2001) supports these views when observing that 80% of South Africans listen to the radio primarily because it is free, does not need electricity, a telephone line or literacy to ensure access. According to Ranchod, this has enabled women to communicate in local languages and listen to local programs.

5. Conclusion/Recommendations

According to Marcelle (2002:3), the types of ICT policies and strategies needed to incorporate women in development programs calls for the empowerment of women through the enhancement of their skills, knowledge, and access to ICTs. This includes making improvements in access and promoting initiatives to include rural women and women in the informal sector

Women are also not likely to benefit equitably from ICT projects unless special efforts have been made to identify their needs and take effective action to incorporate their active participation in project implementation and development. Odame (2005: 15) illustrates that on average, women have less income, education, time and mobility, and face religious or cultural constraints that restrict their access to, and use of, technology. Odame further argues that some groups of women (i.e. rural women) are more disadvantaged than younger, more literate or wealthier urban women.
The fact that information is power, and that women constitute more than half of the population in most African countries, necessitates the need to prioritize actions needed to help women have access to information (Solange and Momo, 2005:6). According to the two authors, these actions require an area study before any project that involves ICTs is implemented. This enables the collection of socio-economic data and the identification of information requirements (education, family planning, legal matters, etc). Another point to consider is the fact that interventions must be designed to reach their target beneficiaries, i.e. the poor rural woman (World Bank, 2002:4-5). According to the World Bank, “ICT projects that succeed in reducing poverty are generally run by organizations with a proven track record”. To be relevant to poor people, applications must take into account the local languages, be visually oriented, and use voice interfaces.
It is therefore recommended that in order to resolve the cited challenges and increase the ICT opportunities available to rural women, it is important to: involve rural women in deciding which ICTs will add direct and immediate benefit to their lives; sensitize and train communities with regard to the use of ICTs before project implementation; develop more resource centres with the capacity to train communities about ICTs; perform a feasibility study or needs assessment survey before project implementation.; assess the gender dynamics/demographics of the community before project implementation (e.g. percentage of women, age groups, occupations etc.); ensure continuous support, such as trouble shooting over the telephone; ensure frequent personal visits; set activities at the pace of the women involved and not the organization’s; identify women with an interest in ICTs, and bring these tools closer to the women; economically empower women, as most rural women are breadwinners.; create an advanced awareness of the project and its intentions through available media resources; expose and connect women, through the use of ICTs, to what other women are doing worldwide; and link rural women to micro finance institutions.


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The Teaching and Learning of Information Ethics in Library and Information Science Departments/Schools: a Literature Review
Sipho Ndwandwe⁴⁴ - ([e-mail])

Department of Library and Information Science

University of Zululand

South Africa