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Accountability vs equity: Challenges in making mobile transfers for payment at the grassroots

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Author: Ranjani K. Murthy, April 4 2023 - Recently, I came back from a governance meeting of a non-governmental organisation (NGO) where the auditor's report was presented, and one of the recommendations was to digitalise all payments, including to grassroots women and men. The government of India was also recommending such digital payments.
The idea was to strengthen financial accountability and transparency. However, women's ownership of mobile phones (let alone smartphones) is limited and is less than that of men. As per the National Family Health Survey 5, only 54% of India women owned a mobile phone as of 2019-2021, with the ownership being lower in rural areas (46.6%) when compared to urban areas (69.4%). Not all these mobile phones are smartphones (data not available), and few women access mobile data and know how to check receipt of digital transfers.
Women's ownership also varies by caste, class, religion, and education, as can be seen from data on one state, Andhra Pradesh (see Table 1, below). As expected, mobile ownership of women from dominant castes, women with over 12 years of schooling, and middle-aged women was higher, but there were surprises, too! The proportion of Muslim women who owned a mobile phone was highest (probably due to their greater vulnerability to attacks (being a minority), as well as higher incidence of male migration). It was surprising to see that 56% of scheduled tribe (on the scheduled list of the government) women owned a mobile phone. This could be due to greater migration in search of work.


Source: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and International Institute of Population Science, 2021, Andhra Pradesh National Family Health Survey-5, 2019-2021, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
When I asked the NGO how they were managing to make digital payments to marginalised rural women who may not own/know hot use mobile phones, it emerged that at times they paid auto-drivers (three wheelers) who drove the women to meetings, restaurant owners for the food, husbands who could operate phones, etc. All men! This does not empower these marginalised women.
Hence, it is crucial that all women are provided by governments with smartphones, that they are trained in its use, and that they are given free mobile data. The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 indicator on ownership of mobile phones (men and women) should be modified and monitored accordingly. This is crucial not just for financial transparency of NGOs but for economic empowerment of women.

* Thanks to Kier Olsen DeVries for editorial support. 1 The term 'other backward classes' (castes) was used for the first time in the Mandal Commission’s report in 1980. Other backward classes are the castes that fall between the three higher castes and the scheduled caste and scheduled tribes, and they account for roughly half of the Indian population. Scheduled castes (considered untouchable) and scheduled tribes are discriminated and oppressed groups recognised in the scheduled Lists of the Indian constitution. Source: Who Are the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and OBCs? (vakilsearch.com).

Image credit: Victorgrigas via Flickr (CC BY-SA 3.0)
 

 

As with all the blogs posted on our website, the content above does not imply the endorsement of The CI or its Partners and is from the perspective of the writer alone. We do not check facts and strive to retain the writer's voice, as is detailed in our Editorial Policy.