Infrastructure in Rural India
June 6th, 2010
Poverty in rural parts of India to a large extent could be attributed to lack of access to education and information. People in bigger cities have access to more knowledge which can help to stimulate their career and job opportunities, help with life at home, or help their crop to grow better. Many people in rural areas are not even educated about their rights within the law. Many women are unaware that their husband can go to jail for beating them, or that they do have contraceptive options for family planning when things are getting out of control.
This is where the InfoLadies come in to play. The Guardian has a great article about women who are trying to make a difference (Click Here).
The idea is to have women ride around to remote villages (in this case in Bangladesh) with Netbooks, cell phones, and other gadgets hoping to utilize trust from villagers, technology, and the internet to help spread information to places which would otherwise have no access to it. It allows farmers to learn about which pesticides to use on their crops, it teaches women about family planning, and allows job training for people who want to move on from their current situation.
The plan was met with initial resistance but has since been catching on. The question moving forward is whether government backed NGOs sponsoring these types of projects is a real solution, or simply a stop-gap for the real problem of lack of infrastructure in the region.
-Michael Minasian
Entry Filed under: 2010 Student Blogs, India, Misc.
3 Comments Add your own
1. Danielle Steussy | June 9th, 2010 at 6:32 am
This is great! Although it may not be a long-term solution (just ask Dr. Marlow), this is an excellent start to solve a problem that is negatively impacting the women in India. Solving an infrastructure problem takes time and capital and some serious effort on the part of the government. Technology is relatively cheap and a broadband connection can do so much more for women in terms of getting educated on health and legal issues than a nicely paved road. The women do need the help and quite simply, they have a right to it. InfoLadies may be a short term fix (or not…it may be extremely successful), but it has a good chance of doing some good for the ladies in India. Isn’t that worth it?
2. Chris Phippen | June 11th, 2010 at 12:17 pm
I agree with Danielle, whether or not this is a viable long-term solution, I think it represents a solid first step in the right direction. As someone with background in the agriculture industry, the prospect of helping farmers in a developing country to advance their methods and technology is certainly an exciting one! I’d love to see what types of things they are teaching with respect to Integrated Pest Management (proper use of pesticides and other chemicals) and good nutrient management practices (helping to mitigate the effects of fertilizer on the environment). I am anxious to observe agriculture in India and see where they are and where they are headed.
3. Michael Harroch | June 11th, 2010 at 3:46 pm
I agree with Danielle. Compared to the cost of building infrastructure throughout such regions, deploying InfoLadies seems like a much more cost-efficient way to reach remote areas. It is also much more direct and effective in the short run. However, this could never replace the need for modern infrastructure, which is a necessary and vital foundation to any country’s development.
In the mean time, this can only do good. In fact, I feel like countries which have high contrasts between their urban centers and rural areas, such as Turkey, Brazil and China, could benefit immensely from similar programs.
This could be a new project for the Peace Corps…
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