Research

Women add new dimensions to the policy agenda, but there is little evidence that increased women's representation changes policy outputs. This article examines the case of Rwanda, which now has the highest level of women's representation in parliament in the world at 48.8 per cent. Based on face-to-face interviews with women representatives in the Rwandan parliament, the authors confirm that the Western-based work has validity in a developing world context. In Rwanda, women representatives considered themselves to have a great concern with grassroots politics, but little change was registered in the working hours or calendar of the parliament. The relationship between men and women parliamentarians is not smooth, although it has been reported to have improved since 2003. In terms of the policy agenda, women's issues are now raised more easily and more often than before, but increased women's representation has had little effect on policy outputs. To indicate this lack of influence is not to say that Rwandan government policy is unfriendly to women. However, many of the most significant laws (from the point of view of the position of women) were passed before the large increase in women's parliamentary representation occurred such as Category One status for rape, the inheritance law and indeed the Constitution. The gender-based violence law is an exception in this regard.

 

A new study released by Ohio State University shows that college students who use Facebook spend less time studying and have lower grades than students who don't use the popular social networking site. But don't count on the Facebook users admitting the problem.

Information is universally acknowledged to be a lynchpin of sustainable and equitable development. In Africa, however, access to information is limited, and especially so for rural women. The new information and communication technologies (ICTs), centred mostly on the Internet, provide potential to redress this imbalance.

The essays in this book examine the current and potential impact of the ICT explosion in Africa. They focus specifically on gender issues and analyze the extent to which women's needs and preferences are being served. The authors underscore the need for information to be made directly relevant to the needs of rural women, whether in the areas of agriculture, health, microenterprise, or education. They argue that it is not enough for women simply to be passive participants in the development of ICTs in Africa. Women must also be decision-makers and actors in the process of using the new ICTs to accelerate African economic, social, and political development.

Uganda was one of the first countries in Africa to develop a policy on universal access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) and to implement a universal access fund, designed to support initiatives aimed at improving poor and rural populations' access to ICTs. Today, Uganda's universal access policy and rural communications development fund are generally seen as "best practice".

This book presents the Ugandan experience – an experience that was unique because of the country's early liberalization of the communication sector and explosion in the use of mobile communication technology. Regulators, policy advisors, and government officials, both within and outside Africa, will find this book useful as they develop their own policies, strategies, and implementation plans for universal access.

The revolution in information and communication technologies (ICTs) has vast implications for the developing world, but what tangible benefits has it brought when issues of social inclusion and exclusion, particularly in the developing world, remain at large? In addition, the gender digital divide is growing in the developing world, particularly in Africa. So what do ICTs mean to African women?

African Women and ICTs explores the ways in which women in Africa utilize ICTs to facilitate their empowerment; whether through the mobile village phone business, through internet use, or through new career and ICT employment opportunities. Based on the outcome of an extensive research project, this timely book features chapters based on original primary field research undertaken by academics and activists who have investigated situations within their own communities and countries. The discussion includes such issues as the notion of ICTs for empowerment and as agents of change, ICTs in the fight against gender-based violence, and how ICTs could be used to reconceptualize public and private spaces. 

SWEAT interviewed 17 sex workers, eight of whom worked indoors in an agency and nine who worked outdoors soliciting clients on the street, through newspaper adverts and cellular phones. In some cases those working outdoors spoke of previous experiences when working in the indoor industry. Three themes emerged out of our discussions with participants relating to their experiences of stigma and isolation, discrimination, and violence. The study highlights these women's experiences and makes recommendations to address the stigma and discrimination.

A study by the Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing and Union Theological Seminary shows seminaries aren't doing much to prepare clergy-in-training to deal with sexuality issues. 

Structural disadvantages and the waste of female talent have been diagnosed for all states in the European Community by several studies of the European Commission. Women are still faced with a so called glass ceiling which hinders them to get into high positions. This phenomenon is often also described as a "leaky pipeline" as with every step in the scientific career the proportion of women decreases dramatically. Even though women nowadays constitute half of the students or sometimes even more, they do not have a strong voice in decision making processes and curriculum development. This applies for countries with significantly different historical backgrounds or in cases with comparably high numbers of highly qualified women. Additionally, while the proportion of researchers of the total labour force has been increasing, the gender gap regarding work conditions and salaries is widening. Female scientists often work in much more precarious working conditions than men. The proportion of temporary employments in scientific organisations has a clear effect on the proportion of women working in these organisations: the more temporary jobs in the institutions, the higher the proportion of women.

Since the mid 1980s, a strange sight has been on the political horizon. Feminists are standing alongside their arch-enemies, conservatives and religious fundamentalists, to call for anti-pornography laws.

     This phenomenon threatens the well-being of women in at least three important ways:

• Feminism is no longer a stronghold of freedom of speech;

• Women's unacceptable sexual choices are now under new attack;

• It involves rejecting the principle "a woman's body, a woman's right."

Given the epidemic levels of sexual violence and the widespread availability of increasingly graphic pornography in the United States, it is not surprising that researchers and activists have tried to answer the question of whether there is a connection between men's use of pornography and sexual violence. Since legal controls on sexually explicit material began to loosen dramatically in the 1970s and the issue attained a new visibility, a variety of different methods have been used to try to answer that question, or at least provide clues to the answer. After two decades of research, there is little consensus, not only as to that answer but as to definitions of terms, appropriate methods of investigation, or  even how to frame the question. This essay will attempt to highlight the most relevant aspects of these disputes and reach tentative conclusions that can guide people working in the field.