Women banned from using mobile phones in Indian village

Elders at an Indian village have banned women from using mobile phones in public in order to restrict their contacts with men and plans on issuing hefty fines for the violators.

The police reported on Wednesday that villagers of Madora, which is mainly a Muslim village in the conservative northern state of Uttar Pradesh, have been issued these orders by the local council also called the khap panchayat.

The village elders ruled that women who were found using their mobile phones outside their homes would be fined a sum of INR 21,000-an amount which is considered hefty amongst the rural Indian population.

“We have received reports about the Khap ordering the ban on women using mobile phones,” local police chief Arun Kumar Singh told AFP.

“Such orders are against the constitution and we will take action.”

The members of the council believes that mobile phones are spreading evil in the society and are to be blamed for the illicit relationship between men and women. They have taken this step in order to limit their interaction with men.

The council has also in the past, imposed fines on people caught slaughtering cows or smuggling liquor.

“We do support their measures against illegal activities but won’t allow them to kerb the freedom of women,” Singh said.

The khap panchayats are mostly run by male village elders and although they do not have any legal standing, they do exert a lot of influence on people of northern India. These panchayats have a self-appointed job of maintaining conservative values in the society.

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