Women's Health In Africa

“The way the world is going, if you are not connected, you do not exist…Access to information is an essential tool for empowering an individual.” Mayer, D. & Pillsbury, B. (2005). Women Connect! Strengthening Communications to Meet Sexual and Reproductive Health Challenges. Journal of Health Communication, Vol. 10, Issue 4, p364

This quote came from an article discussing the issues with women’s health in Africa. Specifically, the article was discussing how to get information out to women about their rights and health in Africa where men generally dominate the world of education and technology. It kind of goes hand in hand with the oh-so-popular phrase “ignorance is bliss”. When I saw this particular quote, I thought it was the perfect explanation for why the internet is important in Africa today. Through the internet, African women have gained so much; they are able to learn about things going on in the world and about opportunities available to them. They are also able to share information with others through the internet. It’s almost as if the internet has given African women a voice and a freedom that they did not have previously. In a place where women aren’t often afforded the opportunity to be educated beyond grade school, if at all, the internet has given them another way to gain valuable information that they may not have otherwise received.