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)
99%Smartphone Ownership
96%Uses Mobile for Financial Transactions
72%
Reach and Connection
Uses WhatsApp primarily for group learning and coordination for business. Communicates on WhatsApp using voice notes, images, and groups. Uses Facebook to expand her social network.
Entertainment and Stress Relief
Active participation on social media is present but could be shaped by normative constraints. May seek news online and use data-dependent apps such as online religious content.
Learning and Growth
Learning is often shaped by both livelihood and personal needs. Active information-seeking occurs via Google for educational content and news, Facebook for business-relevant information, and YouTube for specific videos. May use basic, purpose-specific apps such as Hausa/English dictionary and cooking apps to upskill. Exploration is largely restricted to activities aligned with expected gender roles, while still creating space for livelihood-related learning.
Transactions and Financial Security
Uses OPAY for transactions. May use banking-related apps for savings.
Self Promotion and Expression
Uses WhatsApp and Facebook to promote business and seek business-related information including via closed online groups. Overall, expression on social media is limited and shaped by norms, leaning toward controlled, purposeful engagement (status updates, posting, and group participation).
Tracking
May use specific apps for tracking health (e.g., reproductive health), and finance (OPAY).
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
96%Partner Works in a Professional or Managerial Role
34%Has Year Long Employment or Livelihood Activity
62%
Access to Device and Consumables
Likely to have had some early phone access, by borrowing from parents or siblings. Parents may gift phones for key educational milestones. Access to devices may improve after marriage.
Has a smartphone. Likely does not need to borrow.
Likely buys data independently and has greater access to media centres. May also act as a media distributor for others.
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
91%Cannot Read at All
2%Has Secondary and Above Education
87%
Base Capabilities
Has likely had some early exposure to phones. This coupled with English literacy supports her ability to navigate devices and apps. Likely learnt basics at an early age or by observing others around her.
Learning Style
Keen to learn and tries things independently before seeking help. Can expand use and transfer learnings across apps.
Learning Needs
Likely able to master most communication-related tasks autonomously and continue independently after initial setup and demonstration. May need one-off support to initiate new use cases.
Facilitators
Apart from spouses and children, facilitators may include female friends outside the immediate family who support early digital use. They are digitally capable and open to supporting more expansive use.
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
8%Participates in Household Decision Making
50%Household has Electricity
95%
Disruptions caused by Financial Shocks, Damage, Degradation and Loss
As she derives significant value from digital use, disruptions cause a sharp decline in both breadth and quality of use. Borrowing phones may mitigate the worst effects but reduces overall engagement. Downgrading to a feature phone can be difficult and frustrating.
Managing Recurring Costs (data, airtime etc.)
Managing recurring costs such as data and airtime is a key source of disruption due to data-dependent use. She may have some autonomy in purchasing data and mitigating disruptions.
Charging Cycles
Charging is unlikely to be a major source of disruption due to reliable access to power, including at home. She can also access nearby charging centers independently, further reducing the likelihood and duration of interruptions.
Norms, Control and Coercion
Likely grew up in a less normatively restrictive environment. This may continue after marriage as husbands may not actively control, particularly if she contributes to household income. In some cases, restrictive gender norms or insecurity around infidelity may cause friction with the husband, leading her to likely moderate her use within sanctioned boundaries.
Husbands are often more educated and less restrictive, and may encourage wives’ learning as a marker of modernity and social standing. Women may also negotiate greater access due to higher exposure and competence before marriage.
Perception of Risk
More exposed to digital risks due to broader use, including social media. Aware that increased visibility can invite risk.
Response to Digital Risk
Takes precautionary steps such as blocking users. Responsibility for safety is often assigned to platforms or institutions. Less likely to self-restrict for learning or business use unless there is a serious risk of overstepping acceptable gender norms. May also restrict children’s use and help them navigate digital risks.