Abstract: The paper uses ethnographic practices to apprehend the complexity of gender divide in the adoption of mobile phone and services in Sonitpur District and in Guwahati, Assam. The paper examines the barriers to effective use of mobile phone by women. The findings suggest that women’s experience in technology domestication within and outside household can challenge the negative societal attitudes towards women as a passive users of technology. Mobile phone can be a substitute to larger digital divide and an instrument for women’s empowerment to increase women’s autonomy in family and community.

Keywords: Women Empowerment, Gender-based Challenges, Mobile phone, Social Support Network, ICT, Housewives, Rural Households, Informal Sector