Producer and presenter at Kunduz radio centre, Afghanistan. Flickr/ ADB. Some rights reserved.Afghan women, alongside their peers in the rest of South Asia are fast emerging out of confinements externally imposed on them by religious extremism and other negative socio-economic elements. Information and Communication Technology or ICT, primarily mobile telephony and Internet, are playing a critical role in this gradual process of empowerment.
Ignoring the centuries-old taboos, the women are gaining fast access to mobile technologies. They are getting used to different information services and creating their own social as well as professional spaces online. Certainly there are still many battles left to fight to ensure equitable access to information and communication for the majority of women in this land. However, the trends we have observed are indicating the increasing and positive presence of Afghan women in the world of social media, smart technologies, and digital economy.
