Use Of Information And Communication Technology In Empowering Rural womenof Keiyo South Constituency, Elgeyo/Marakwet County, Kenya

Abstract

nformation and communications technologies (ICTs) are powerful tools that boost economic growth and poverty reduction. However, despite an increase in ICT use women in rural areas still lag behind. The purpose of this study therefore was to establish the use of ICT in Empowering rural women of Keiyo South constituency, in Elgeyo/Marakwet County, Kenya and recommend the best practices for using ICT to alleviate poverty among rural women in Kenya. The specific objectives were: to assess the level of poverty and information needs of rural women; establish the socio-economic benefits of ICT use among rural women in Keiyo South Constituency; find out the influence of ICT use on economic welfare of rural women and to determine the effect of ICT use on political empowerment of rural women in Keiyo South. The study was informed by Harris Info Mobilization theory and adopted a qualitative research epistemology design. The target population was 3070 women in Keiyo South. Stratified sampling was used to divide the constituency into divisions and locations and purposive and snowball sampling were used to obtain 141 accessible respondents. Data was collected using semi-structured interview schedules supplemented by document review and observation and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study found that the rural women of Keiyo South have limited access to ICT Technology and infrastructure which has impacted negatively on their socio-economic and political status. Access to information was mainly through informal sources such as friends and neighbors; they need education and training to provide them with knowledge and skills for accessing ICT information which can help them to reduce poverty. The study concluded that use of ICT has helped to reduce poverty through economic empowerment and has enabled the rural women to obtain new life skills. In addition, ICT has enabled them to participate in political election online. With relevant ICT infrastructure and policies in place, ICT should be used to improve the socio economic and political status of rural women in Keiyo South and reduce poverty among them. The study recommended that the County government of Elgeyo/Marakwet should empower rural women economically by providing them with information through ICT and by enacting policies that support development of ICT infrastructure and projects for rural women. Through these projects, the rural women will be trained to gain the knowledge and skills for searching and retrieving information through ICT. This knowledge would help them to develop strategies for social, economic and political empowerment and for poverty reduction