American International Journal of Social Science

Analysis of the Diffusion of Information and Communication Technologies among Rural Nigerian Women
Angela N. Nwammuo, Ezekiel S. Asemah, Leo O.N. Edegoh

Abstract
Regional initiative such as Africa Information Society Initiative (AISI) and some other related societies have all tried to encourage the building of Africa’s information and communication infrastructure so as to speed up socio-economic development across the continent of Africa. Many governmental and non-governmental bodies have also supported similar initiatives. This has led to a great improvement from what it used to be in the early 1990s and what it is today. But the question remains, who benefits from all these programmes – the urban – literate Africa woman or the rural-illiterate and poverty stricken African woman? Effectively used, ICTs can enhance development through the use of the Internet, to enable rapid marketing of products, to facilitate discussion among experts on critical development issues, to share strategies for poverty alleviation; to carryout research on the management and treatment of deadly disease and to provide other relevant information to the public; among many other things. The extent to which ICTs provide individuals and groups with the ability to interact and access ideas from each other depends on the availability and diffusion of ICTs among the group concerned. This is the bedrock of this study. It ascertains the level of diffusion and utilisation of ICTs among rural African women. Using rural Nigerian women as respondents, a total of forty-two group discussion were used as an instrument for data collection, using purposive sampling as the sampling technique. The data generated were analysed, using explanation building technique. Data generated indicated that an overwhelming percentage of rural women studied did not yet have access to ICTs. It was also found out that most of the rural settings lacked basic amenities like electricity and Internet facilities. The study recommended among others, that provision of basic infrastructure is sine-qua-non the utilisation and diffusion of ICTs among rural African women. It is also a key to the empowerment of women in rural African settings.

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