Rajasthan: Jalore village elders withdraw ban on women using smartphones after backlash

Village elders in Rajasthan’s Jalore district have withdrawn a decision that sought to ban women from using smartphones after the move drew opposition at several places.

A meeting of panchas (village elders) was convened on Thursday in Gazipur village, where they unanimously decided to revoke the ban. The elders said the decision was taken with children’s welfare in mind but was “misunderstood”.

The ban had been announced during a meeting of the Chaudhary community of Sundhamata Patti on 21 December in Gazipur village. Under the decision, daughters and daughters-in-law from 15 villages were to be barred from using smartphones from 26 January, though they were allowed to keep basic feature phones for making calls.

According to the order pronounced at the time by a community member, Himmataram, school-going girls were permitted to use mobile phones for studies only inside their homes. They were not allowed to carry phones to weddings, social functions or even to neighbours’ houses.

Explaining the rationale behind the move, another community member, Natharam Chaudhary, said the issue was discussed during a community programme at Sundha Mata on December 21.

“The women there told us that children start using smartphones as soon as they return from school. They neither eat nor study and spend the entire day watching videos, which affects their brain and eyesight,” he said.

Chaudhary said the proposal to restrict smartphone use emerged from these discussions and concerns over growing screen addiction, cyber fraud and exploitation.

“Cases of cyber fraud are happening 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,” he said.

However, he clarified that the decision was advisory in nature and no one was bound to follow it.

“People misunderstood the decision. After hearing the reactions from different places, we decided to withdraw it,” he added.

The move to revoke the ban came amid criticism that the decision was discriminatory and curtailed women’s autonomy, prompting the village elders to step back from the proposal.

With PTI inputs