I welcome the consistent attention that the International Telecommunication Union pays to gender issues in its activities. The ideas I have developed on how telecentres could be better adapted to the needs of rural women in the context of sustainable development spring implicitly from the situation I know best, that of the West African countries and African women. The principal message I wish to convey is to some extent a statement of the obvious: if the local women are to benefit from them, rural telecentres must respond to their needs and contribute to removing the constraints to which they are subject, such as: 1. Limited access to information and communication tools. 2. Limited access to basic training and modern science and technology. 3. Illiteracy. Voice and tactile interfaces must be developed.
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