Vol. 1 No. 1 (2021)
Bridging the Digital Divide: A Mixed Methods Study of Gendered Access, Infrastructure, and Digital Literacy in Rural Morocco
Abstract
The digital divide in rural African contexts remains a critical barrier to inclusive development, with gendered dimensions poorly understood. Rural Morocco presents a pertinent case where infrastructural expansion has not guaranteed equitable digital participation, particularly for women. This study investigates the interconnected barriers to digital inclusion for women in rural Morocco, specifically analysing the relationships between physical access, mobile infrastructure quality, and gendered digital literacy. A sequential explanatory mixed methods design was employed. A stratified household survey (n=420) provided quantitative data on access and usage patterns. This was followed by 32 in-depth interviews and 6 focus group discussions to explore lived experiences and contextual factors shaping digital engagement. Quantitatively, while 78% of households reported mobile internet coverage, only 34% of women were regular users, compared to 67% of men. Qualitatively, three key themes emerged: infrastructural reliability as a prerequisite, social norms governing 'appropriate' use, and literacy gaps extending beyond basic operational skills to critical evaluation and content creation. The digital divide is a multi-layered phenomenon where technical infrastructure, social structures, and individual capability intersect to disproportionately exclude rural women. Effective inclusion requires moving beyond connectivity metrics to address these embedded socio-technical barriers. Policy must integrate technical infrastructure projects with community-based digital literacy programmes designed for and with women. Telecommunications regulators should mandate gender-disaggregated coverage and quality-of-service data. Future research should employ longitudinal designs to track the efficacy of integrated interventions. Digital divide, gender, digital inclusion, rural development, Morocco, mixed methods This study provides a novel, integrated analysis of the technical and social dimensions of the digital divide, introducing a validated framework for assessing gendered digital inclusion in rural African settings.
Read the Full Article
The HTML galley is loaded below for inline reading and better discovery.
How to Cite
Keywords
Research Snapshot
Desktop reading viewReferences
- Klehm, C. (2021). Archaeology of Botswana. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History.
- Sithole, T. (2021). Coloniality of Being, Imperial Reason, and the Myth of African Futures. The Palgrave Handbook of Africa and the Changing Global Order.
- Madureira, L. (2021). Lusophone Southern African Literature (Angola, Mozambique). A Companion to African Literatures.
- Jaensch, S. (2021). Understanding African Agency in Peace and Security: Tanzania’s Implementation of “Non-Indifference” in Somalia. Africa Spectrum.
- Matsimbe, Z. (2021). Women at the Centre: The Case of Gueguegue Community, Boane District, Mozambique. African Feminisms and Women in the Context of Justice in Southern Africa.
- Thames Copeland, T. (2021). ‘Did He Freeze?’: Afrofuturism, Africana Womanism, and Black Panther’s Portrayal of the Women of Wakanda. African Identities.
- Okunade, S.K., Faluyi, O.T., & Matambo, E. (2021). Evolving patterns of insurgency in Southern and West Africa: Refocusing the Boko Haram lens on Mozambique. African Security Review.
- Müller-Mahn, D., & Kioko, E. (2021). Rethinking African Futures after COVID-19. Africa Spectrum.
- Powers, T. (2021). People, policy, history: citizenship and black urban communities in South Africa. Journal of Contemporary African Studies.
- Bishop, M. (2021). Asserting Customary Fishing Rights in South Africa. Journal of Southern African Studies.
- Allina, E. (2021). Bright lines and fault lines: the politics of refuge in independence-era Mozambique. Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue canadienne des études africaines.
- Shaw, D. (2021). COVID-19 and African Postage Stamps. English Studies in Africa.
- Hoeymissen, S.V. (2021). China Studies in Africa. Journal of African Cultural Studies.
- Shaw, J. (2021). Citizenship in Africa. Journal of Southern African Studies.
- Qiu, Y. (2021). Cleavage: Guangzhou, Covid-19 and China–Africa Friendship Politics. Journal of African Cultural Studies.
- Makgoba, M. (2021). Constructing the Symbolic Agendas of Political and Structural Transformation with the Discourse of Black Economic Empowerment in South Africa. African Studies.
- Bawa, S. (2021). Culture, Rights, and African Women’s Futures. The Palgrave Handbook of African Women's Studies.
- Lee, C.J. (2021). Decolonizing “China–Africa Relations”: Toward a New Ethos of Afro-Asianism. Journal of African Cultural Studies.
- Tshabangu, T., & Salawu, A. (2021). Indigenous-language Media Research in Africa: Gains, Losses, Towards a New Research Agenda. African Journalism Studies.
- Glenn, I. (2021). Journalism, the Coming of Television, and the New South Africa. African Journalism Studies.
- Seedat, M., Suffla, S., & Ndlovu-Gatsheni, S. (2021). Mbeki’s ‘I am an African’ Speech: Mobilising Psycho-Political Resources for Political Reconstitution of Post-Apartheid South Africa. African Studies.
- Simpson, A. (2021). Religion, same-sex desire and masculinity in South Africa. Journal of Southern African Studies.
- Pype, K. (2021). Religion, social navigation and urban space in sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Southern African Studies.
- Pearce, J. (2021). Simango, Gwenjere and the Politics of the Past in Mozambique. Journal of Southern African Studies.
- Etherington, N. (2021). Southern Africa: Is It Still a Thing?. Journal of Southern African Studies.
- Zeleke Eresso, M. (2021). Women in Ethiopia. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History.
- MIZOBE, Y. (2021). A Brief Analysis of the Current Trends and Future Path in African Historical Studies in Japan. Journal of African Studies.
- Vicente, M., & Schlebusch, C. (2021). Ancient DNA Studies and African Population History. Africa, the Cradle of Human Diversity.
- Bagai, K., & Faimau, G. (2021). Botswana Print Media and the Representation of Female Victims of Intimate Partner Homicide: A Critical Discourse Analytical Approach. African Journalism Studies.
- ADATI, T. (2021). Challenges and Prospects for Studies on African Agriculture. Journal of African Studies.
- ENOMOTO, T. (2021). Humanitarian Aid in African Studies:. Journal of African Studies.
- Archambault, J.S. (2021). In Pursuit of Fitness: Bodywork, Temporality and Self-Improvement in Mozambique. Journal of Southern African Studies.
- Judge, M. (2021). Queer at 25: A Critical Perspective on Queerness, Politics and Futures. Journal of Asian and African Studies.
- Tamburini, F. (2021). The COVID-19 Outbreak in North Africa: A Legal Analysis. Journal of Asian and African Studies.
- Zheng, W., Cheng, Y., & Coetzee, C. (2021). Thinking China from Africa: Encounter with the Other Other. Journal of African Cultural Studies.
- Ubink, J., & Duda, T. (2021). Traditional Authority in South Africa: Reconstruction and Resistance in the Eastern Cape. Journal of Southern African Studies.
- Müller, T.R. (2021). “Samora’s children” – the celebration of (post-) socialist citizenship in Mozambique. Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue canadienne des études africaines.
- Bauer, N. (2021). Blaming the Other: Migrancy and Populism in Contemporary South Africa. African Studies.
- Táíwò, O. (2021). Doing sociology in Africa: notes towards advancing the Akìwọwọ project. Journal of Contemporary African Studies.
- Vahed, G., & Desai, A. (2021). Inside the cricket change room: undressing whiteness in South Africa. Journal of Contemporary African Studies.
- SAKAMOTO, T. (2021). Looking Back on 60 Years of African Studies in Japan:. Journal of African Studies.
- Yan, H., & Zheng, W. (2021). Positioning Ourselves on China in Africa: An Interview with Hairong Yan*. Journal of African Cultural Studies.
- Oyedemi, T.D. (2021). Postcolonial casualties: ‘Born-frees’ and decolonisation in South Africa. Journal of Contemporary African Studies.
- Mohammed, W.F. (2021). Pɔhim Zuɣu: Understanding Indigenous Language News Audiences in Ghana. African Journalism Studies.
- Molebatsi, C., & Morobolo, S.B. (2021). Reading the Place and Role of Endogenous Governance Structures in Modernist Physical Planning: The Case of the
- Zheng, W. (2021). Reflecting on “Chinese” Positionality in Africa: An Encounter with Another “Other”. Journal of African Cultural Studies.
- Manatsha, B.T., & Morapedi, W.G. (2021). Reflections on a quota system for tribal land allocation in peri-urban areas in Botswana. Journal of Contemporary African Studies.
- Klaaren, J. (2021). Regulatory Politics in South Africa 25 Years After Apartheid. Journal of Asian and African Studies.
- Mzileni, P. (2021). Studentification in South Africa: Possible Redirections and Political Implications for Local Government. Journal of Southern African Studies.
- Falola, T. (2021). Teaching Women’s Studies in Africa. The Palgrave Handbook of African Women's Studies.