The village elders in Rajasthan’s Jalore district have lifted the ban on women using smartphones after it faced opposition in several areas. A meeting of the panchas (village elders) was held on Thursday in Gazipur village, where they unanimously agreed to withdraw the ban. They stated that the decision was made with children in mind, but it was “misunderstood.”
During a meeting of the Chaudhary community of Sundhamata Patti on December 21 in Gazipur village, it was decided that daughters and daughters-in-law from 15 villages would be prohibited from using smartphones starting January 26.
The village elders and community members also allowed them to use keypad (feature) phones solely for making calls.
According to the order announced by community member Himmataram on December 21, school-going girls may use a mobile phone for educational purposes only within their homes. The order stated that they would not be allowed to take mobile phones to weddings, social gatherings, or neighbours’ houses.
‘Cases of cyber fraud are occurring daily’
Another member, Natharam Chaudhary, said that on December 21, the community had a programme at Sundha Mata.
The women there had informed us that their children, after returning from school, immediately start using smartphones, he said.
They neither eat nor study and spend the entire day watching videos, which has adverse effects on their brain and eyesight, Choudhary said.
The ban was imposed following the suggestions that women should not use smartphones, he said, adding that no one was bound to follow the decision.
He mentioned, “Cases of cyber fraud are occurring daily, and women and girls are facing exploitation. That is why one month was given to observe the situation. If everyone had found it acceptable, it would have been implemented from January 26, but people misunderstood the decision.”
The ban was intended to be implemented across the villages of Ghazipur, Pawali, Kalda, Manojiyawas, Rajikawas, Datlawas, Rajpura, Kodi, Sidrodi, Aldi, Ropsi, Khanadewal, Savidhar, Hathmi Ki Dhani, and Khanpur, according to The Hindu.
A video showing the announcement being read aloud at the panchayat meeting later circulated on social media, prompting strong backlash from social activists and women’s rights organisations. While the method of enforcing the decision was not clearly defined, it was widely viewed as an effort to preserve family honour and privacy within marital households.
One X user urged women from the 15 villages to collectively defy the order as a form of mass protest. “What can the men do? Put all the women in jail? Good luck with that. This is so ridiculous,” she said.
Another social media user called on women to “definitely accept” the ban, but only on the condition that men give up paan, bidis, cigarettes, hookah and alcohol and refrain from keeping moustache.
