The UN Women Fund for Gender Equality Project implemented by WOUGNET and WomensNet in South Africa entitled “Increasing women’s decision making and influence in internet governance and ICT policy for the realization of women’s rights in Africa” was conceived with the aim of:
i) increasing the capacity of women in the two countries to discuss, analyse, respond to and influence policy on gender and internet governance more effectively; and
ii) increase the knowledge-base on how internet governance and ICT laws and policies can incorporate a women’s rights perspective in order to substantially and materially improve the lives of women specifically in Uganda and South Africa, and in the region more broadly.
The project is implemented by Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) in Uganda, and the WomensNet in South Africa.
The internet is recognized as a potentially transformative space. However, lack of integration of women’s rights and sexual rights perspectives in internet governance conversations and processes was identified as a key factor limiting the internet to fulfill its potential as transformative space for all. Policy processes should not only ensure equal participation of women and girls from different stakeholder groups, but also ensure that this has impact in the substance of the discussions and can be seen in the outcomes. Avri Doria 2015, notes that one has to search far and wide to find substantive outcomes that relate to gender, women’s rights and the governance of the internet. Discussion of gender in internet governance often occurs as a set of stand-alone topics rarely discussed in terms of their intersections and their interrelated nature.
Table of contents
Introduction.............................................................................2
Genesis of the issues paper ..................................................2
Definition of key concepts. .....................................................2
Gender dimension of ICTs......................................................4
Technology-related violence against women online..........4
Participation of Women in Internet Governance.....................5
Recommendations..................................................................6
Network disruptions in Uganda...............................................6
What the Government of Uganda should do...........................7