Bihar village fines women using mobile phones

It was the first such diktat issued by a village council in the state.

Patna:  Women in a Bihar village would have to do away with their mobile phones.

The village council of Sunderbadi village in Kishanganj district yesterday prohibited women from using mobiles phones and imposed heavy fines on them if found talking on the device.

"The villagers have issued an order to impose a fine of 10,000 rupees if a girl is found using a mobile phone,” an official said.

The council also imposed a fine of 2,000 rupees on married women if they are found talking on mobile phones outside their house.

A senior police official said it was the first such diktat issued by a village council in the state.

"There is no precedent to such an order issued by a Bihar village council," the official said.

The council has also ordered women not to bathe on roadside.

Mohammad Manzoor Alam, who belongs to the village, said the decision was taken in a meeting attended by council members and village elders.

Alam, who too was a part of the meeting, said the villagers, mostly elders, favored imposing the ban.

"Mobile phone is the cause of all evils in our society, including increasing love affairs and the incidents of elopement," he claimed.

Kishanganj is Muslim-dominated and among the most backward districts in Bihar with 60 percent of the population living below the poverty line.

This is not the first time such diktats have been issued against the women for using mobile phones.

In October, a senior leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Muzaffarnagar favored not giving mobile phones to girls.

He had said that there is nothing girls are missing without a mobile.

In August, a village council in Rajasthan has prohibited girls from carrying mobile phones.

The council in Kishorpura village of Jhunjhunu district also directed them to cover their heads when going out of home.

Unknown militant outfits in Kashmir had in August warned that girls would be shot dead if seen using mobile phones in public.

The hand written posters of 'Lashkar al Qaeda' and 'Alqaeda Mujahideen' appeared at many mosques in militancy-hit Shopian district.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com