MOBILE PHONES, INTERNET, AND GENDER IN MYANMAR MOBILE PHONES, INTERNET, AND GENDER IN MYANMAR Lack of need and the hierarchy of mobile ownership The second most-cited barrier, that there is no need to own a mobile, is more common among women than men, particularly in higher income households. There is a hierarchy in the distribution of mobile phones in a household, since many households cannot afford multiple connections at once, at least initially. When a household typically gets its first mobile phone, the household member who gets first preference for keeping it is the person who leaves the house either for work or studies. As mentioned in Section 4.2, this tends to be a male household member (although not always), and the ability to keep in touch with and be reachable by home is key. At this stage, the mobile is perceived more as ‘family’ or common property, but as the number of mobiles in the house increases, they increasingly become individual property. Therefore, women do not feel that they need a mobile phone, since the majority (more than 50%; Figure 7) do not go out to work or study. “When I wanted to play games I had to ask my brother. He blamed me that I use all his credit when I called my friends.” FGD, Yangon, female owner, 30–45, non-working, SEC B/C “My siblings wouldn’t share their phone. They have boy and girlfriends.” HV Yangon, female owner, 25, working, SEC C “Males work and have business so they carry the phone. But if the wife has business she also has one. Today even youngsters and children have a mobile.” HV, Yangon, female owner, 19, not working, SEC C Changing perceptions and attitudes of women (as well as men) about the economic value of a phone for work, business, and even the coordination of household affairs may encourage them to get connected. 5.2.2 Problems with phone sharing While women do have access to phones, it is through shared household phones (mobile or fixed), or borrowed phones (mostly from other household members), and this sometimes limits their use to just basic calling; many owners only allow others to make short calls. Some mobile owners are reluctant to share their mobiles due to privacy concerns. Mobile phones are regarded as personal items, since contact lists, messages/chat histories (e.g. with boyfriends/ girlfriends who the borrower—a parent/spouse/sibling, etc.—may not know about), and other personal data are stored on them. Those who do not have a mobile therefore feel reluctant to ask. 42 “Before, when my daughter called from Malaysia I had to go to neighbors.” FGD Yangon, female owner, 46–65, working, SEC B/C “Those who have a touchphone don’t let others use it because it could be damaged. They would let others only receive calls. I heard neighbors arguing about who holds the phone.” FGD rural, female non-owner, 46-65, non-working, SEC D/E “I have to top-up her phone even though I only receive phone calls, but we go together on the Internet. I can only afford to topup with 1000 kyats.” HV Yangon, non-owner, 29, non-working, SEC D/E “This guy had photos of other girls in his phone so he didn’t let his wife use it.” FGD Yangon, female owner, 30–45, non-working, SEC B/C Innovative solutions that enable greater privacy between users (e.g. creating user profiles/accounts) can promote more phone sharing in the short to medium term, but in the long run, measures are needed that enable those who share to get their own mobiles. The ubiquitous phone shops and stalls of the past are also quickly disappearing, leaving non-owners even more to the ‘mercy’ of owners. Others were not keen on sharing because of the borrower using up their credit (relatives and friends generally do not charge others to use their phone). Yet, many have to pay inflated rates when using another’s phone, even for incoming calls. Many non-owners do not know actual calling rates. Current fees for using other phones have not dropped in the past year, although actual costs for calling rates have decreased. Fees depend on the owner: most qualitative respondents paid MMK 100/min for an outgoing call and MMK 300 for an incoming (if it does not exceed five minutes). 43