Embracing Technology for Women Empowerment

Web 2.0 is the platform that drives the new information age. It has shrunken the size of the globe to the distance from one’s communication device. With the recent advances in ICT, applications such as Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, etc. have made it possible for people to become journalists, editors, and publishers by generating, editing and publishing their own stories online on issues affecting their daily lives. It also serves as a platform to educate women on issues that impact their lives, while offering avenues to improve their wellbeing. It has also afforded the opportunity to report real issues and life experiences of people whose voices or plights may otherwise have been overlooked by the traditional
media.

For the global women’s empowerment movement, Web 2.0 offers a platform for easy access to information. Problems facing women in a particular community are looked at by women from different communities, who bring different perspectives to them, brainstorm on, and proffer solutions that best address the issues. Because it offers the opportunity of social networking, women from different parts of the globe can easily connect to others who share similar interest or are facing similar situations in their
localities. It also increases the awareness of women to what is happening both in their communities and in the world.

Considering the part of the world we are from, and the attitude of our government towards freedom of information, social media has become a means for accessing and sharing information quickly. This has not only made it easier for us to be informed on issues affecting our lives, it has made it possible for us to make inputs, share ideas and organize sensitizations of those responsible for implementing government policies and those to be most affected by these policies.

It also affords us the opportunity to bring to light practices and customs detrimental to women and maternal health while striving to educate others on how best to overcome gender related discriminations and stereotypical labeling.