Analysing ICTs Potential for Rural Women’s Empowerment in Central Asia through the Capability Approach

The role of ICTs for women’s empowerment in the development context is increasingly being discussed in the field of Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D). Studies have been conducted investigating the empowering potential of ICTs. Yet research on the Central Asian region is lacking, in particular regarding the most vulnerable group of people in the region: rural women. This paper aims to shed light on this gap by conducting an exploratory analysis using an adapted version of Kleine’s Choice Framework, which is based on Amartya Sen’s capability approach, using secondary data sources. Through a focus on the countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, the adapted version of the Choice Framework is used as a mapping tool to identify the barriers and opportunities that ICTs can have for rural women’s empowerment in the region. The findings show that a lack of access and infrastructure of ICTs remains the biggest barrier in the region, with the exception of Kazakhstan. Where ICTs are being used, this is likely to take place through mobile phones, reflecting a common tendency throughout developing countries. Additionally, the local context regarding traditional gender roles, and social norms constrains women’s agency, in combination with an increasingly oppressive political environment. This combination of factors means that ICTs do not currently appear to present an empowering tool for rural women in the region.