ICT for Women's Empowerment in Rural Bangladesh

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is often considered as a catalyst for socio-economic development and women’s empowerment in the international development discourse. It is assumed that widespread access to and use of ICTs has the ability to overcome existing digital divides and empower marginalised people including rural women in developing countries but my research found that appropriate contextualisation is needed to understand the impact of ICTs on women’s lives. In this regard, my research emphasises the need to understand, address and communicate context-specific needs, priorities and challenges for better design and implementation of ICTs and ICT-based women’s empowerment initiatives.