The impact of the level of literacy on access to information by urban black women in Zimbabwe: the case of Kariba town

Abstract

This report lays out the findings of an investigation undertaken to determine the impact of literacy on access to information by urban black women in Zimbabwe. Kariba, a small town located at the Zimbabwe’s North-eastern boarder with Zambia was used as the study site. \n\nDocument study supported by interviews and observations were used as methods of data collection. Key informants and selected women were respondents for the self administered interviews and focus group discussions. Representatives, each from, the local Catholic Church, the local clinic and the Department of Social welfare were the key informants. The Central Statistics Office in Zimbabwe was approached to get national statistics on women, literacy and development while the National Library of Zimbabwe (NLZ) provided data on the country’s information policy and the general nature of information provision. \n\nSnowball sampling was used to select a sample of 40 women between the ages of 18 and 60 drawn from the various residential areas of Kariba. Data collected was analyzed into themes and coded for statistical analysis using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS)\n\nThe results of this study may be generalized to the ecumenical information situation of urban black women in Zimbabwe. Findings show that the women in Zimbabwe experience information needs have limited access to information sources due to inappropriate levels of literacy, inter-alia other factors. This leaves the urban black woman uninformed or with inadequate information that she may not access or process due to insufficient levels of literacy. The study established that the major reasons for seeking information for the urban black woman in Zimbabwe are meeting personal and family needs. Areas of interest include education, health, childcare, politics, security, consumer issues and income generating projects.\n\nThere is need to develop an information gateway characterized by accessibility and flexibility, which will be of real value to a women user community in Zimbabwe. Women’s access to education and information should be enhanced. This calls decision-makers to develop strategies for action to boost literacy for women, manage available information resources and harness effort towards making them accessible particularly to the urban black women in Zimbabwe. While interventions may be multi-sectoral, the role of government is stressed in this report.

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