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Midlands Bureau
The majority of women and young girls have no access to Information Communication Technology (ICT) and the Second Republic is geared to invest in equipping young girls with science and ICT skills to achieve a digital economy by 2030, Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services Minister, Dr Jenfan Muswere, had said
Dr Muswere was speaking during commemorations of the International Girls in ICT Day in Gweru last Friday. He said there was need to engage and re-engage and realign conditions that will introduce girls and young women to ICT much earlier in their lives. “The Girls in ICT (Day) is also one way of improving gender balance and gender mainstreaming within our communities,” he said. “Girls in ICT is not for young ladies from the urban areas or leafy suburbs, but it is a national initiative meant for all the girls across the social divide. From what we have observed during the previous editions of the Girls in ICT, I can confidently say our girls are eager to learn and take advantage of opportunities existing within the wider ICT sector.”
Dr Muswere said the International Girls in ICT Day was set aside by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to inspire and empower young women and girls to take up ICT careers and become active stakeholders in the information society and promotion of ICT skills.
Today, digital skills have become an integral part of our daily lives as the world is oriented towards automation and digitisation in the quest to have a smart world.
Dr Muswere said it is estimated by ICT experts that about five million traditional jobs will be lost by the year 2030, and will be replaced by ICT systems and jobs.
He said this has instigated a global reawakening and the need to engage and re-engage, realign conditions that will introduce our girls and young women to ICT much earlier in their lives.
“As we implement the girls-in-ICT initiative and bridge the digital gender divide, it is important that we create the appropriate environment and policy realignment to sustain the interest of not only our young girls but their male counterparts as well.
“As the Ministry of ICT, Postal and Courier Services, we will work hard to ensure the availability of ICT infrastructure throughout the country to help provide internet connectivity and equip schools and the various Community Information Centres(CICs),” Dr Muswere said.
He said the protection of cyberspace was a key priority of the Government and efforts were being made to ensure the security of ICT infrastructure and the online services, so that they are a safer space for children who have become conversant with ICTs.
“I am glad to say that the Ministry of ICT, Postal and Courier Services, in collaboration with other stakeholders, has developed a Child Online Protection framework document to guide the implementation of activities aimed at protecting our children as they take advantage of the many opportunities that ICTs bring,” he said.
Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) director-general, Dr Gift Machengete, said they have embarked on a number of initiatives aimed at enhancing ICT access to all, especially those in rural and marginalised areas.
“We believe in inclusivity and in leaving no one behind, which is why we have been rolling out Community Information Centres (CICs) throughout the country, connecting schools, health care institutions, government departments, and police stations and also providing these with ICT gadgets among other projects,” he said.
Dr Machengete said Potraz will be giving full scholarships to four young women from underprivileged backgrounds to study science subjects at university level.
The ICT, Postal and Courier Services, in partnership with Potraz and other stakeholders, has also promoted ICT development in Zimbabwe through the establishment of computer laboratories at various schools countrywide, a programme that is ongoing targeting more than 8 800 primary and secondary schools across the country.
A study by UN Women and the ITU shows that girls access digital technology at a later age than boys and that their use of this technology is more often curtailed by their parents and guardians.
Online Reporter