Abstract

This study gives an alternative view regarding the alienation of African women from technology. Proceeding with a careful analysis of development communication theories, both old and newer theories are seen as inadequate in clarifying the patterns of Third World development because they do not consider gender as a necessary variable in the development process. Present feminist theories of technology, particularly those in the Women in Development school (WID), are also viewed as inadequate in explaining the alienation of African women from technology, as they mainly point to economic and legal factors. This study posits that the process of technology transfer has to be considered in the context of the socio-cultural base of African societies, especially in relation to the sexual division of labour. Using Malawi as a case study, the study demonstrates that the main cause of African women's alienation from technology goes beyond mere economic and legal factors. African women's gender-roles confine them to routine, mostly unskilled chores. When advanced technologies are imported, the women are not prepared for the jobs generated by the new technologies, and do not have the chance to even use them. Thus the benefits of using new technologies are accrued almost exclusively by men. If development efforts are to benefit all (or at least) the majority of the people, then a transformation of gender roles is necessary