How do they use their phones?
Women use their phones to stay connected, manage financial transactions, consume entertainment, express themselves, and access information for everyday needs. Patterns of use are shaped by relevance, familiarity, and the constraints of their social and material contexts.
Mobile Ownership (DHS-8 2024)
41%Smartphone Ownership
5%Uses Mobile for Financial Transactions
3%
Reach and Connection
Use is focused on personal communication and limited to making and receiving calls. Some women who have sales based livelihoods may also use phones to communicate with their customers or suppliers. Messaging is not operated directly, text messages are sent and read with help from others.
Entertainment and Stress Relief
Listens to the radio for entertainment and religious sermons.
Learning and Growth
May listen to health-related information and religious learnings on the radio. Learning is passive, based on listening to broadcast content rather than seeking specific information.
Transactions and Financial Security
No independent use of digital financial services.
Self Promotion and Expression
Limited or no engagement in self-promotion or expression.
Tracking
Does not engage in health or financial tracking.
How do they get access to their phones?
Access to phones is often mediated through family and social networks, with devices acquired, shared, or supported through these relationships. Patterns of ownership, control, and continuity vary across geographies and reflect broader gendered and economic conditions.
Is in the Top 40% by Household Wealth Nationally
8%Partner Works in a Professional or Managerial Role
5%Has Year Long Employment or Livelihood Activity
43%
Access to Device and Consumables
Unlikely to have had early phone access. Husbands may provide basic phones for contact, but ownership may be inconsistent.
May have a basic phone for calling. But could also be reliant on borrowed phones during access disruptions.
Almost entirely dependent on others for airtime purchase.
How do they learn how to use their phones?
Women build digital capability over time through a combination of early exposure, literacy, and support from others. Facilitators, such as family members, peers, or intermediaries often play a role in shaping how skills are developed and how confidence is built.
Can Read Full Sentences
5%Cannot Read at All
86%Has Secondary and Above Education
7%
Base Capabilities
No early digital exposure coupled with little to no literacy implies likelihood of very limited learning.
Learning Style
May need support to make and receive calls. Learning, if it happens, is largely through pattern memorisation.
Learning Needs
Likely needs to be taught how to make and receive calls and use the radio, but may not require ongoing support.
Facilitators
Facilitation is likely to come from immediate family members, as she requires ongoing support.
What are the challenges they navigate?
Women navigate interruptions in access, limitations in resources, and a range of digital risks. Their use of phones is shaped by social expectations and relationship dynamics, which influence when, how, and how freely they are able to stay connected.
Has Internalised Domestic Violence
28%Participates in Household Decision Making
42%Household has Electricity
39%
Disruptions caused by Financial Shocks, Damage, Degradation and Loss
Disruptions have minimal impact, as phones can be borrowed for urgent use.
Managing Recurring Costs (data, airtime etc.)
Disruption is not keenly felt as use is basic and can be supported with borrowed devices.
Charging Cycles
Likely depends on charging centres, but their proximity to these centres and limited phone use may mean batteries last longer, reducing disruption.
Norms, Control and Coercion
With little to no early exposure, restrictive norms after marriage may be more readily accepted and internalised. Scrutiny remains limited because her usage is minimal.
Older women in these groups, especially those with limited early digital exposure, may not recognise the value of digital use and may internalise and reinforce restrictive gender norms. This tendency is often more pronounced among more vulnerable women with limited education.
Perception of Risk
May face threats via calls, such as fraud, but exposure remains low due to limited use.
Response to Digital Risk
No proactive response required due to limited use.