Women’s Smartphone Access In Kenya Is Greatly Controlled By Men

According to a report from Mozilla done across 200 people who have a lower income, women’s technology use in Kenya is greatly controlled by men.The research which was done by Mozilla and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said that men seemed to be in charge of getting women online in the first place.The report also stated that women are three times more likely to get their first smartphone as a present and that men greatly affect the type of phone they’ll get majorly because of their financial input.“This financial reliance can severely limit technology adoption by women, as they have less decision-making power and fewer opportunities to access technology," said the report.The men also heavily control how women use the phones after buying.“Some female participants were stopped from using services like Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp by suspicious husbands.“One participant from Nairobi, who had received her smartphone as a gift from her partner, got into an argument with him which resulted in her smartphone being taken away and sold.”Both men and women agreed that they spied on each other’s phones, stated the research."Both men and women admit that their partner inspects their phone usage, but more men admit to keeping smartphone-related information from their partner, like secret SIM cards, messages, or photos."You can check the full report HERE