Only 44 per cent Telangana girls have access to mobile phones

New survey sheds light on gendered digital divide in 10 States.
For representational purposes.
For representational purposes.

HYDERABAD: Only 44 per cent of adolescent girls, as against 56 per cent boys, have access to mobile phones in Telangana, revealed a new survey. The survey, released ahead of the National Girl Child Day (Jan 24), highlighted that one of the major reasons for limited mobile access among girls is their parents’s unwillingness, as most of them believe that phones are “unsafe” and an “unhealthy distraction” for girls. 

The survey, which was conducted to analyse challenges in digital access and empowerment of adolescent girls, especially in the light of the pandemic, which has shifted classrooms into online spaces, was conducted in 29 districts of 10 States by the Centre for Catalyzing Change (C3), in association with Digital Empowerment Foundation. 

States like Assam, Haryana, Karnataka, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal were surveyed, and the study found that the gendered digital divide is larger in the northern States than the southern ones. Girls in Karnataka has around 65 per cent access to phone, the highest among all the States, whereas Telangana has the lowest disparity rate at 12 per cent. The digital divide between the two genders, however, continues to prevail in the State. 

Time spent on phones

The survey said that family attitudes and biases restrict girls’ time with a digital device, and overall, only 42 per cent of girls are allowed access to a mobile phone, that too for less than an hour in a day. “Even when families and adolescents can afford smartphones, computers and other digital devices, it is always the male family members’ usage of devices that is prioritised,” the survey found. 

Speaking to the Express, Vandana Nair, senior advisor for C3, said, “The first problem is that there is no digital access at all for more than 50 per cent adolescent girls in all the surveyed States. Another challenge is the huge gendered digital divide, which was observed in all the States. This will result in increased school dropout rate among girls.”The survey also showed that in Telangana, a majority of people do not spend more than `300 for Internet connectivity in a month.

What the numbers say 
The study found that the gendered digital divide is larger in the northern States than the southern ones. Girls in Karnataka has around 65 per cent access to phone

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