Posted on 12/08/2012 1:36:23 PM PST by nickcarraway
If caught, a fine of $180 will be imposed
A village council in the eastern Indian state of Bihar has banned the use of mobile phones by women, saying the phones were "debasing the social atmosphere" by leading to elopements - a move that set off outraged protests from activists.
In addition to the ban, the Sunderbari village council in a Muslim-dominated area some 385 kilometers (239 miles) east of Patna, the capital of Bihar, has also imposed a fine of 10,000 rupees ($180) if a girl is caught using a mobile phone on the streets.
Married women would have to pay 2,000 rupees ($36.60).
"It always gives us a lot of embarrassment when someone asks who has eloped this time," said Manuwar Alam, who heads a newly-formed committee tasked with enforcing the ban, referring to queries from neighboring villages.
He said the number of elopements and extramarital love affairs had risen in the past few months, with at least six girls and women fleeing their homes.
"Even married women were deserting their husbands to elope with lovers. That was shameful for us," Alam said. "So, we decided to tackle it firmly. Mobile phones are debasing the social atmosphere" .
Local officials have begun investigations, saying that such bans cannot be allowed in a healthy society, while women's rights activists called it an assault on freedom that could potentially end up harming women by stripping them of one source of protection from trouble, such as unwanted advances by men.
"Girls and women are capable enough to protect themselves," said activist Suman Lal during a debate on local television. "Technology is meant to be used, not to be banned...The order is nauseating."
Fellow activist Mohammad Islam said it was "disappointing" that the village council ignored the many advantages of mobile phones before placing a ban on them for one reason.
"I want every girl to be given a mobile phone so that she could call up family members if she has a problem" , he said.
My first thought was the world would be a much better place if all women were banned from cell phone use. Then I realized my wife might resort to talking to me instead...
These throwbacks need to grow up.
A phone is an inanimate object. He might want to look at the husbands and fathers for what's shaming the village.
Not to mention the lovers.
“saying the phones were “debasing the social atmosphere”
Wait until they discover the internet..
How many of these women are escaping from horrible situations of abusive marriages to first cousins that took place when the woman is just a child.
I’m waiting for the day that NOW and other so called feminists stop complaining about how bad women have it in the US and start complaining about the muslim world where women truly have it bad!
In a word, these are attributes of a culture rooted in casteism and where women are still treated like chattels, all of which is foreign to western civilization and yet we keep issuing H1B visas to these Asians, who then in turn vote 74% for Obama.
This is a mostly Muslim area of India, so I don’t know if caste system comes into play.
If you follow Steelfish’s posts, especially those pertaining even tangentially to India, you’ll notice a pattern. And a lot of H1B rage.
And in this country we treated blacks like slaves just over a hundred years ago.
By the way, India is a big country, 4 times bigger than US in population. It is not a monolithic country. My parents in India had 3 daughters and two sons. The oldest daughter graduated in 1942 with a degree in science. The next younger daughter graduated with a degree in commerce in 1943. And the 3rd daughter graduated from medical college in 1950. I graduated in 1960 with an engineering degree following in my older bro’s footsteps. India had a woman prime minister (head of state, equivalent of president here, Indira Gandhi) long before US will have here.
So you can see women have not been left behind in India. It just depends on educational levels of each family. My father had a law degree so his kids all went to college.
And in this country we treated blacks like slaves just over a hundred years ago.
By the way, India is a big country, 4 times bigger than US in population. It is not a monolithic country. My parents in India had 3 daughters and two sons. The oldest daughter graduated in 1942 with a degree in science. The next younger daughter graduated with a degree in commerce in 1943. And the 3rd daughter graduated from medical college in 1950. I graduated in 1960 with an engineering degree following in my older bro’s footsteps. India had a woman prime minister (head of state, equivalent of president here, Indira Gandhi) long before US will have here.
So you can see all women have not been left behind in India. It just depends on educational levels of each family. My father had a law degree so his kids all went to college.
Good Observation. He might have lost a job to some H1B replacement somewhere or is just resentful of people from India getting jobs.
what are they going to do while they’re driving?
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