Gender equality occupies a central space in the NGO landscape, with organisations increasingly incorporating gender into their programming, be it around land, human rights or access to justice. There is also recognition of the potential that technology can play in achieving gender equality. Women’sNet was established to promote access to and the strategic use of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) for women’s development.

Women’sNet describes ICT as any communication tool for people to use beyond word of mouth including photographs, the internet, cell phones, radio, television, amongst others.

Women’sNet was created in 1998 as a joint effort between SANGONeT and the Commission on Gender Equality (CGE). Its founding recognised the growing trend in using ICT for women’s advancement. It was anticipated that Women’sNet would enable women to stay linked online so they could strengthen their lobbying and advocacy efforts and support and be supported by the CGE.  In 2000, Women’sNet branched off from SANGONeT and became a separate independent entity. Recognising the need to work with young women, and fuelled by a desire to ensure future generations of women were aware of their hard one rights, Girls’Net was born.

By 2004, Girls’Net had developed into a fully-fledged project of Women’sNet, conducting training courses for young women in provinces around the country. It was not without challenges. Lerato Legoabe, the former Girls’Net Programme Manager says that the biggest challenge was getting girls interested and involved, some of whom were hesitant to learn about ICT.

Legoabe states: “When ICT are used correctly they provide opportunities within the global community for women that come from marginalised groups or closed communities. The power of the technology is that it helps women define their own agency to communicate specific concerns to a broader audience.”

Girls’Net believes there must be a policy shift to open up the potential of ICT to disadvantaged communities. Accessibility continues to be a problem for marginalised societies that need the resources the most. Another challenge is what could be described as girls’ ‘fear’ of technology.

Legoabe says: “The programme attempts to demystify the stereotype that the relationship between science and technology is strictly for males.”  Girls in the programme produce content for the Girls’Net website and are the drivers of the project. Legoabe says the girls feel proud when they see their work. Girls are not only consumers but producers of the content as well; they alone are the experts on their own lives.

Girls’Net operates through setting up ‘technology clubs’ in different provinces. Girls’Net members come together in these provincial spaces and work around specific issues relevant to their communities, with the support of the Girls’Net programme manager.

Through the simple use of photography, GirlsNet was able to influence government policy in the Easter Cape. They partnered with the Market Photo Workshop, a training institution based in Johannesburg to run a three week photography workshop with girls from the Eastern Cape club in rural Mount Frere. The aim was to encourage girls to begin showing other girls how cameras and photography could be used to share experiences and show how they live.

Participating girls were able to capture stories of other girls in their village who had been married without their consent, a practice commonly known as "ukuthwala” or bride abduction. This project helped girls tell stories about themselves while describing their environment in a non-verbal way; it supported the girls to tell their stories using photographs as their narrative.

Girls’Net members then used the pictures and the stories they told to write a submission to Parliament on the Children’s Bill, specifically related to early marriages. They were one of the girls organisations invited to Parliament to give oral presentation based on their submission. This is one example of how ICT impacted a community and made change on a regional scale. Photography portrays only a minor role of how young girls can create change for themselves to a broader audience. 

Cell phones have come to play a vital role in development and have particular benefits for women. Legoabe believes that the use of cellphones for social activism has great potential for ensuring that women and girls’ voices are heard. Mobile technology can be the bridge to the problem of accessible communication technology, especially for young women because it is cheaper than the Internet.

Legoabe hopes the Mobile Active Summit08 taking place in October will also address the concerns around accessibility. She says: “The importance of mobile technology use as a public benefit that encourages communication is imperative for the field of development”.  In her opinion, if this issue is not addressed it is possible that mobile technology will become expensive and purchased by private entities strictly for business incentives. She believes that activists should foreground communication as a right.

GirlsNet is looking forward to new projects. In 2008 and beyond, Lerato and her co-workers are working to build stronger partnerships with other organisations and institutions that support girls’ development.  There are two main campaigns they want to strengthen:

HerITage: The HerITage campaign is about connecting young women and girls to accessible information relevant to their development. The campaign emphasises the use and value of local languages in the information age in order to ensure and encourage girls to be aware of their rich heritage as South Africans.

Girls against Violence:  The Girls Against Violence campaign creates platforms for girls to speak against violence from their own perspectives. It is also an opportunity for girls to work with boy focused initiatives to jointly address gender violence.  For example, when the campaign was launched, members of Boys for Change a project working with young men and boys, was invited to participate. This approach, which supports the joint efforts of girls and boys, young men and women, is one which the Girls’Net programme embraces.

Girl’sNet plans to launch both campaigns nationally in September 2008. For more information contact Faith Nkomo on +27 11 429 0000 or faith@womensnet.org.za