02507 a2200529 4500 0367788152 20250317100350.0 250312042021GB eng 9780367788155 Taylor & Francis GBP 21.99 BB 01 eng JPB thema JPH thema GTM thema JBCT thema T thema JBSF1 thema JPWC thema JHB thema JBSF11 thema 1H bisac 1QFG bisac JPB bic JPH bic GTB bic JFD bic T bic JFSJ1 bic JPVL bic JHB bic JFFK bic 1H bisac 1QFG bisac POL053000 bisac POL065000 bisac POL052000 bisac POL000000 bisac SOC008010 bisac 305.42096 bisac Assata Zerai African Women, ICT and Neoliberal Politics The Challenge of Gendered Digital Divides to People-Centered Governance 1 Oxford Routledge 20210331 171 p How can we promote people-centered governance in Africa? Cell phones/ information and communications technology (ICT) are shown to be linked to neoliberal understandings of more democratic governance structures, defined by the Worldwide Governance Indicators as: the rule of law, corruption-control, regulation quality, government effectiveness, political stability/no violence, and voice and accountability. However, these indicators fall short: they do note emphasize gender equity or pro-poor policies. Writing from an African feminist scholar-activist perspective, Assata Zerai emphasizes the voices of women in two ways: (1) she examines how women's access to ICT makes a difference to the success of people-centered governance structures; and (2) she demonstrates how African women's scholarship, too often marginalized, must be used to expand and redefine the goals and indicators of democratice governance in African countries. Challenging the status quo that praises the contributions of cell phones to the diffusion of knowledge and resultant better governance in Africa, this book is an important read for scholars of politics and technology, gender and politics, and African Studies. 82 82