Since the past few decades, gender equality has been the buzz word across the world, as women try to stand on an equal footing with the men in every sphere.

Barring countries like Afghanistan, most nations, developed and developing, have introduced policies to provide equal rights to women at par with men. From using politically correct language to making reservations for women in the political system and the job market, governments have tried to give women their due. In Nepal, the new constitution has not only ensured the rights of women as a fundamental right, but it has also guaranteed 33 per cent reservation of positions in all the institutions, including the legislature, for women. However, countries like Nepal still have a long way to go before gender equality is fully ensured, but we can accelerate it through improved digital capabilities. This was the theme of the virtual talk hosted by the World Bank Country Teams for the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka on Wednesday to mark International Women's Day.

It has shown that a one per cent increase in mobile phone penetration leads to a 0.12 per cent increase in the human development index in south Asia. Similarly, a 10 per cent increase in mobile broadband networks causes a 0.14 per cent increase in the GDP of non-OECD countries. The issue, however, is not one of mobile phone penetration in the country. The number of mobile phone users exceeds the total population of Nepal by more than 31 per cent, which means every Nepali has a mobile phone regardless of gender and geography. And at the start of 2023, there were 15.9 million internet users in the country, with 12 million social media users, or 41 per cent of the total population. However, access to digital technology and ability to unleash its full potential are two different things. Despite the many tasks that the mobile phone and the internet can be made to perform, it is no secret that they are used mostly to make a call or to browse the social media for entertainment or unproductive purposes. Uploading photos and making TikTok videos are favourite pastimes of the Nepalis - both men and women. The virtual conference revealed that only 3 per cent of women in Nepal have used the internet to access bank accounts while only 15 per cent of women - compared to 23 per cent for men -have received or made digital payments. A similar situation cuts through all countries of the region.

Most people in Sri Lanka are unable to complete a payment or transaction online while 59 per cent of women in India are unable to fill up the login details and passwords for online services or platforms.

Digital technologies help foster trade and business marketing and are a great opportunity for women to be employed as well as sell their products online. Instead of blaming the middle men for ripping them off, the farmers could get a good price for their produce if they, for instance, knew about the market price in the cities. But there are some key skills to be learnt by both the consumer and the producer if they want to benefit from the digital economy. This calls for digital literacy that should be taught from the school level.

Waste of resources

Three health facilities, built in close proximity to each other with funds from Sudurpaschim Province in Bajura's Budhiganga Municipality, have remained non-functional even after the completion of their physical infrastructure three years ago. The projects were picked by the provincial government itself without consulting the local level officials. Now, the investments made in these three health facilities have gone to waste for want of medical staff and equipment.

Most of the health facilities are built in close vicinity of the municipality, forcing the people of other rural municipalities to visit them. It appears that those who have political clout in the province have poured millions of rupees in their areas, leaving other rural municipalities in the lurch. Why does Budhiganga Municipality need three health facilities when other municipalities do not even have basic health services, especially relating to parturition? The local levels and provincial governments must build the health facilities to provide health services to a wider section of society so that everybody enjoys the right to health services at an affordable cost. If this trend continues unabated, the true spirit of federalism will die down.

A version of this article appears in the print on March 10, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.