The Question of Empowerment: Women’s Perspective on Their Internet Use

Abstract

This study poses the question of whether and under what conditions the Internet is or is not an empowering tool for women Internet users in Bangladesh. The main focus of the study is on those women who, academically or professionally, are not associated with technology, and hence, we turn our gaze on home-based women Internet users, who by defi nition, belong to the elite of society. The study is based on the concept of empowerment in terms of agency. In-depth interviews were conducted with 16 participants. The aim of the research was to attain information on women’s use of the Internet, what they understand by empowerment, and to fi nd out whether their use of the Internet contributes in any way to their empowerment. The study shows that women are using the Internet for many interesting purposes, including giving the fi rst glimpse of a newborn child to distant family members and expanding business worldwide. According to their defi nition of empowerment, women respondents believe that their use of the Internet is bringing positive changes to their lives. This assists in achieving empowerment, they noted.

Key Words:

• agency
• empowerment
• home
• information
• Internet
• women’s viewpoint