ISLAMABAD: Jazz CEO Aamir Ibrahim has urged for serious, results-oriented efforts to make connectivity more affordable to address the persistent gender digital divide, which continues to prevent Pakistani people, especially women, from accessing the numerous benefits of digital connectivity in an increasingly hyper-connected world.
He shared these views while commenting on the latest GSMA Mobile Gender Gap report, which reveals a 38 per cent disparity in mobile ownership among Pakistani women—the highest in Asia—and a 38 per cent gap in their mobile broadband use, the second highest in the region after Bangladesh.
The report identifies affordability as a key global barrier to women’s access to smartphones and mobile data. Other significant factors include literacy and digital skills, as well as safety and security concerns. In Pakistan too, affordability remains a major obstacle to digital inclusion for both women and men.
Heavy taxation on telecom services in Pakistan, among the highest in the world, makes digital access significantly more expensive with telecom users facing a steep 34.5 per cent tax on their services, which includes a 15 per cent withholding tax and a 19.5 per cent GST.
Previously set at 12.5 per cent, the withholding or advance tax rate was reduced to 12.5 per cent in the original Finance Act of 2021, with a promise to lower it further to 8 per cent in the subsequent years. However, this decision was reversed in the supplementary Act later that same year, with the advance tax rate being revised to 15 per cent.
“There should either be complete abolition of the current 15 per cent withholding tax or, at the very least, it should be reduced to 8 per cent as stipulated in the original Finance Act 2021. This would aid in narrowing the digital inclusion gaps and enable more women to harness the socio-economic benefits of digital connectivity,” Aamir said.
The sharp rise in handset prices over the past few years – driven by factors such as the high dollar exchange rate, import restrictions, and excessive device taxes – has further limited women’s access to smartphones and mobile broadband.
Alongside affordability, social norms are among the top roadblocks to Pakistani women’s digital inclusion. When families face financial constraints, women and girls are often the last to gain access to mobile phones and internet services. This limits their ability to benefit from digital learning, employment opportunities, and essential services, thereby reinforcing existing inequalities and slowing down the national digital transformation.
Another common observation in Pakistan is that in a medium- to low-income Pakistani household, a teenage boy is more likely to have a smartphone than a teenage girl. While affordability—a major obstacle to digital inclusion—should affect boys’ digital access as much as girls', it disproportionately impacts girls, which is quite unfortunate.
Aamir emphasised the urgency of addressing another noteworthy report finding indicating that in Pakistan, 42 per cent of men and 28 per cent of women perceive mobile internet as being more useful for men than for women. Surprisingly, these views are consistent across both urban and rural areas, as well as across different age groups.
He reiterated the commitment to ensuring a smartphone in every hand, broadband in every home, and a QR code in every local store to advance Pakistan’s digital agenda, ensuring that the benefits of technology are accessible to all Pakistanis on an equal footing.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024