The African Woman and Technology
It came to my realization that women played a major role in the early inventions of technology long before we could talk to machines in common human language. They are among the great founders and innovators, we awe them an applaud, challenging up what is to be considered ‘masculine topics’. In the past years we’ve seen a less number of women who have ventured into the technology, engineering and space sciences whom have actually shook the worlds, perhaps they are there but being suppressed or something of the sort.
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“When [women] have been written out of the history, [girls] don’t have great role models. But when you learn about the women who programmed ENIAC or Grace Hopper or Ada Lovelace … it happened to my daughter. She read about all these people when she was in high school, and she became a math and computer science geek.”
-Walter Isaacson
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Back to Home, Africa is a masculine society and finding women since the early years talking or contributing among-st men was considered a taboo or still is in some communities which is so primitive of them! The rise of feminism came in with a boom shaking every place in the world after women knew its ever much of a big deal to go into the ‘masculine considered areas’ .
What men can do women can do it twice better!!
one of the famous quotes used to gear up women. The western culture has somehow made it easy for us, there is social media one the greatest tools to spread knowledge, stupidity and also take you places. Facebook and Twitter being one of the greatest tools in the social world. Early last year, February to be precise , Siyanda Mohutsiwa had a talk on TED on the topic : How young Africans found a voice on Twitter.
If Africa was a bar, what would your country be drinking/doing?
— Siyanda Mohutsiwa (@SiyandaWrites) July 27, 2015
This tweet went down for a couple of months in the tweet history with the hash tag #IfAfricawasabar, causing reactions from different countries not mainly just as a meme but as a ‘voice transistor’ for different E-activist, criticizing government actions, and to bring light during the geopolitical periods. This tweet brought people together from all African countries creating the E-PanAfrican movement.
Women organisations to empower the girl child in tech fields have also come up, just to name a few :
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She Leads Africa is the #1 destination for young African women looking to build successful careers or businesses. Advice, inspiration, opportunities & more.
Provide training, mentorship and outreach programs to increase the number of skilled women in technology and positively impact the community.
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African women are up on the rise, voicing out for the equivalency of the girl child and the boy child. We all least know of the female tech founders in Africa, well they are there for those of us who are shocked, These women create and innovate, exploiting ideas, products and services to produce dynamic businesses.
- Rebecca Enonchong, Cameroonian : Founder, AppsTech.
- Jamila Abass, Linda Kwamboka and Susan Oguya, Kenyan : Co-founders, MFarm.
- Judith Owigar, Kenyan: Co-founder, JuaKali.
- Anne Amuzu, Ghanaian : Co-founder, Nandimobile
- Clarisse Iribagize, Rwandan :Founder, HeHe Ltd
- Annette Muller, South African: Founder, DotNxt
Just naming a couple of the Women who made an Impact in the Africa Tech scene in the few past years, creating employment to hundreds of people all over the continent. We know we have a great potential in the female gender coming to technology and we would like all of the shy Techies to come be empowered find a tech forums, groups and even join hubs so that your skills could be cultivated. Women tech empowerment should be a forefront idea from the male counterparts!
