Exploring Women Empowerment: A Nigerian Case Study of Ngos' Use of Digital Technology for Non-Formal Education
- Publication Type:
- Thesis
- Issue Date:
- 2020
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This ethnographic study explored women’s empowerment through programmes of non-formal education (NFE) offered by Nigerian NGOs using digital technologies. Women in Nigeria have been systematically disadvantaged in education and employment, and programmes of non-formal education have been established throughout the country, especially by women’s NGOs, in an attempt to redress this inequitable situation. The ability to use digital technologies has been considered fundamental for the success of individuals and for the development of the country. Thus, the concepts of empowerment, non-formal education and the use of digital technologies were central to the study.
NFE programmes offered by three Nigerian women’s NGOs were the focus of this study, which combined online and offline ethnographic methods. Data was collected from NGO staff and programme participants using observation and semi-structured interviews. The online presence of the NGOs was investigated using netnography. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.
The findings of the study show that the aims of the programmes align with the aspirations of participants, to improve the standard of living, and thus might be considered empowering. However, selection criteria, the requirements of sponsors and the perceptions of NGO staff meant that many women were excluded. Infrastructural problems including access to electricity undermined some efforts to develop skills. NGO staff, volunteers and trainers were not always able or willing to exploit fully the possibilities of the range of digital technologies, but the use of WhatsApp by two NGOs was particularly successful in supporting learning and in extending the experiences of participants. In these programmes, digital technologies were a two-edged sword, providing a competitive advantage to those with formal education and pre-existing skills thereby further marginalising those without.
While the empowerment framework assigns equal importance to the tenets of the framework, this study concludes that in the Nigerian context of these three NGOs, the empowerment framework demonstrates that the significance of infrastructure can outweigh the interplay of various factors and the importance of agency. Importantly, the study reinforces that the digital divide is less about access to equipment and more about opportunities created or denied through social norms and expectations.
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