Technology in Africa finding solutions for women

Jacky Habib of Women’s Advancement Deeply explains how Kenyan App Developers Harness Technology to Take on Gender Gaps as the article explores how ‘Kenyan developers offer women tech-based solutions to help them understand and fight for their rights.’ The article describes Sophie Bot, which allows for anonymous consultation about sexual issues, offering information from Kenya’s National AIDS Control Council and the United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) peer-mentor curriculum. According to Habib, Sophie Bot reaches outside of Kenya, with 30% of Sophie Bot’s 4,500 users in Kenya and reporting 18% from the United States.

A similar app, coming from Uganda, Ask Without Shame, uses Whatsapp, SMS, a toll-free line and their own app to offer answers to sex-related questions from medical experts. The app registered 50,000 users across East Africa in just three years. In another example, The 160 Girls Project is an initiative by a Canadian nonprofit called the Equality Effect that works to prevent sexual violence against girls in Kenya. 

Habib goes on to explain that there is still a gender gap in Kenya and sub-Saharan Africa, and details how, In an effort to close this gap, Women and the Web Alliance, a public-private partnership, is teaching digital literacy to women in rural Kenya. In conclusion, she cites Florence Korir, from World Vision, a partner in the alliance: ‘We know that there is a large technology gap between men and women, and that addressing the gender gap will allow women to benefit from the opportunities that technology and the web hold.’