Introduction
Part I: Case Studies
1.1 Introduction to Case Studies
1.2 Women’sNet
1.3 Kubatana
1.4 Satellife
1.5 Global Teenager Project
1.6 Malico VSAT Connectivity Project
1.7 HP i-Community
1.8 Arid Lands Information Network
1.9 CPSI - Dokoza Project
1.10 SchoolNet Namibia
1.11 Ekowisa
Part II: Toolkits
2.1 Introduction to Toolkits
2.2 Gender Evaluation Methodology
2.3 The Martus Human Rights Bulletin System
2.4 NGO-in-a-Box
2.5 Strategic Technology Planning
2.6 Building community wireless connectivity in developing countries
Glossary
Acknowledgements
Credits
Disseminating information for social action and sustainable development (Page 1)
A Zimbabwean case study of e-Knowledge for Women in Southern Africa
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5BACKGROUND
| The political and economic climate in Zimbabwe has become increasingly difficult in recent years. In May 2005, Operation Murambatsvina (“clean out garbage”) was launched in urban areas by municipal and state police, demolishing thousands of informal homes and removing urban dwellers to rural homelands. Amnesty International estimated that up to 700 000 people were left homeless during the fierce winter months and many lost their jobs as a result of these evictions. |  |
Part of Operation Murambatsvina also included police actions against informal traders, including flea market stall operators and street vendors, most of whom had already paid licence fees to the municipality allowing them to operate their businesses. Stalls were destroyed by police, goods were confiscated and many people were physically assaulted.
In July, the government began Operation Garikai ”live well”, promising to provide affordable accommodation to replace lost homes. Unfortunately, this politically fraught process is not meeting the needs of all those people displaced and thousands of families have been left destitute.
Similarly, informal traders have been encouraged to register their enterprises in designated trading places. Most of these, however, have no money to start over and there is a desperate need for start-up loans to help these entrepreneurs.
In reality, many small business owners are women. Their growing involvement in irregular forms of employment leaves them vulnerable in terms of job security and means that many of them are engaged in basic, survivalist trade. On the other hand, they create much-needed income in a country with spiralling inflation, food and fuel shortages, and an increasingly brutal human rights culture. E-Knowledge for Women in Southern Africa (EKOWISA) believes that access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) would significantly assist women entrepreneurs to build their businesses and secure better livelihoods. Knowledge resources could help these women make more informed decisions about their lives and encourage information exchange in Zimbabwean communities. Some potential benefits of access to ICTs include:
• A wide range of up-to-date information
that may not be available locally, such
as market- and product-related data;
• The creation of networks to share
experiences and best practices;
• Mobilising for action and social change
through online activism, potentially
generating support for human rights
and women’s issues;
• Access to new technologies or
techniques to enhance production and
supply of goods and services;
• Cost-effective marketing and
communication tools; and
• Links to other markets, nationally,
regionally and globally.
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EKOWISA