MOBILE PHONES, INTERNET, AND GENDER IN MYANMAR MOBILE PHONES, INTERNET, AND GENDER IN MYANMAR RESPONDENT 4 AGE 39 LOCATION PANTANAW (RURAL) OCCUPATION MAT WEAVER MOBILE OWNERSHIP STATUS OWNER A mobile phone is useful for health and business-related communications. Why and how did she get her mobile phone? Her brother purchased her mobile phone for her in Yangon. She gave him the money and asked him to get one which is easy to use. She uses it to keep in touch with relatives in Yangon, for business, and for family health-related situations, as well as emergencies. Respondent 4 and her mobile phone I no longer need to wait till the wholesalers come and buy mats nor do I need to go to Pantanaw to sell them, as I did before. I just have to contact them through my mobile phone. It obviously saves time and money. 39-year-old Respondent 4 from Tawtaya Gyu village, Pa Thwe Village Clan in Pantanaw, rural Myanmar, is a working wife, mother, and daughter who plays the leading role in her household. She is even entrusted with decisions such as the purchase of gold; her husband trusts her judgment greatly. Her mother and son are of immense importance to her. Her ambition is to overcome her family’s current financial difficulties. She maintains her own mobile phone. Her household Mobile phone ownership in the household There are two mobile phones in her household; one belongs to her while the other belongs to her son. Her son was the first mobile phone owner in the family. He has a smartphone called Vivo that cost MMK 120,000. Hers was the second mobile phone purchased—a Samsung keypad phone. Her husband does not want to get a mobile phone and he always gives priority to his wife and son. She let her son buy a mobile first as he is a young man and he wanted to own a mobile phone, much like others in the community. She can top-up her phone balance using her own funds, and each MMK 1,000 top-up card lasts 4–5 days. For her, the sole purpose of owning a mobile phone is to make voice calls. She is not very familiar with the features of her phone and does not know how to save phone numbers to her contact list. Despite using a feature phone with a Telenor SIM card, she does not use the internet for three reasons: the cost, lack of time, and lack of interest (she appears to know very little about the internet). There are four members in her household: her mother, her husband, her son, and herself. She weaves mats all day using her own raw materials. Her husband is a casual worker. He helps her in drying raw materials for her mats. Their 19-year-old son sometimes works as a casual worker, like his father. She is the only one who earns a regular income and their total household income is approximately MMK 150,000 per month. Each member of the household has his or her own responsibilities for domestic chores. Respondent 4 usually helps her mother cook. 82 83