Redefining relations: The appropriation of new ICT by young rural women in Peru

Research regarding gender and information and communication technologies (ICT) in the Global South has traditionally focused on the so-called digital gender gap, that is, on the differences between men and women in terms of access to ICTs. This chapter explores the more nuanced and complex effects that the introduction and use of these technologies — namely mobile phones and the Internet — have on women’s everyday lives in rural contexts. It examines how these tecnologies might shape and reconfigure women’s day-to-day dynamics and their relationships with their peers and other generations. The chapter draws on studies that focus on the ways populations adapt mobile phones and the Internet to better fit their specific context. Young rural women are a group undergoing a significant process of change. One of the main changes is their increased access to education: they are the most educated generation of rural women in Peruvian history.