Mathura, 2017.05.03 (VT): On Wednesday, the village of Madora in Mathura District decided to ban girls from using mobile phones outside of their homes.
By tightening control over girls, the village panchayat hopes to lessen eve-teasing incidents as well as stop women and men from falling in love and having relationships in a society where arranged marriage is the norm.
Girls who violate the new rule will be fined. Initial reports said that the fine is 2,100 rupees – a lot of money for a young village girl. However, later news stories claim the fine is 21,000 rupees.
There will be no fines for single men who use phones outside the home, however.
In the same meeting, the overwhelmingly Muslim community also pledged support for CM Yogi Adityanath’s campaign against cow slaughter, and promsied to turn violators into the police in addition to socially ostracizing them and fining them 2.5 lakhs.
Many outsiders are placing the two decisions in the same basket of “stone age thinking”, yet the people of the Mathura district are likely to appreciate the panchayat’s ruling on cow slaughter. Mathura is the district where Lord Krishna spent his youth, and the entire area is considered a holy land for Hindus.
The phone ban, however, is unique to Madora and will likely be perceived as extreme in other parts of Mathura.
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