"I feel so happy when I see these young girls behind PCs. They always talk with confidence about what they wish to be in the future, now that they have come in touch with computers. Of course here, computer knowledge is considered to be for the rich. But thank you, Computers For Africa, you make these girls feel their future is not hell anymore."
—Herbert Busiku 3/2004
ICT for Females
CFA’s gender policy and rationale
The United Nations places lack of access to information as the third most important issue facing women globally, after poverty and violence against women. (7) Often technological developments do not provide equitable benefits. For example, progress in agricultural technology has failed to help African women, who today do 80% of the labor and receive 20% of the wages. (8)
CFA policy requires more than 50% of our beneficiaries be female. In the Masaka cluster, 75% of the total student population at our sites is female. These young women were some of the first students in Uganda to take national exams in computer training in 2005 and scored well.
Women and men are not on equal footing in Africa. As a result of their subservient position, the rate of illiteracy for women is higher. Educating a female is considered "watering another man's garden." A further deterrent to their education is their role as primary caregivers for millions of AIDS victims, including orphans. Women also bear the responsibility for providing food, water, and fuel for the household. Their work is "invisible" in the economy, and they receive a fraction of the income of men. When dealing with ICTs, which many Africans see as a man's domain, they feel fear and embarrassment.
"There is overwhelming evidence that educating girls and women is the single most important investment in development a country can make." (9)