Women's Access To Mobile Phones Increasing in Afghanistan

As of late 2012, 80 per cent of women in Afghanistan have regular or occasional access to mobile phones, found the Unites States Agency for International Development (USAID).

In a report released yesterday, USAID surveyed over 2000 women in Afghanistan about their access to mobile phones and the constraints they face. The study found that since 2002, when the first mobile telephone service license was issues in the country, mobile technology has grown rapidly. Almost 48 per cent of the women respondents own their own mobile phones, while another 32 per cent have occasional access to phones.

Strikingly, 67 per cent of the women who own a mobile phone acquired it in the last two years. Women under the age of 25 are the fastest growing group in this sector – 64 per cent of those who acquired a phone in the past year are under the age of 25.

Access to mobile phones is already increasing the economic and social opportunities available to women. Twenty-five per cent of the respondents who own a mobile phone use it to access services such as education, health care and income-generating opportunities.

More than 84 per cent of respondents view mobile phones as a necessity, not a luxury, and 86 per cent of women mobile phone owners believe that increased connectivity enhances women’s lives, making them more secure, better equipped to cope with emergencies, more independent, and more social.

The report revealed some key insights for mobile service providers in Afghanistan. For example, only 71 per cent of women said they are able to read an SMS. According to UNESCO, only one in five women in Afghanistan is literate. This unveils a large market for voice-based applications and services, such as interactive voice response systems, text-to-voice services, and call centres.

While 94 per cent of those who do not own mobile phones are not intimidated by the new technology, the biggest barriers to mobile ownership for women were lack of permission from family members, and the high costs associated with mobile phones. While basic feature phones cost between US$29 and $48 in Afghanistan, offering attractive packages such as installment payments or discounted rates can help reduce the digital divide between men and women.

The Afghanistan government, along with international agencies such as USAID, are accelerating the use of mobile money in the country, improving transparency in payments and expanding financial inclusion. Increased mobile access among women will bring them into this fold, and increase entrepreneurship and other commercial opportunities available to them.