Uttar Pradesh: Muslim village panchayat bans jeans, mobile phones for girls

Lucknow: A Muslim village panchayat in Uttar Pradesh has issued a diktat that bans girls from using mobile phones and wearing jeans and T-shirts.

The ban has been implemented in more than 10 villages of Muzaffarnagar and Saharanpur districts.

"The kind of clothes that unmarried girls in our community wear, for example netted or if they are semi-clothed, this is not decent according to the rules of Islam. We live in villages, it might be allowed in cities but it is not allowed in villages and our village panchayat, our organisation has totally banned it," said Mohammad Irfan, the president of the panchayat.

The families failing to comply with the orders of the village panchayat are first 'counseled' and if they still continue to flout rules then they are boycotted.

The 17-member panchayat then takes a final call on the fate of those who do not follow their diktat.

The villagers reason that providing mobile phones to unmarried girls may increase crimes against women. "We don't think it is good for unmarried girls to use mobile phones. God forbid, if they talk to someone (men), it results in increase of crimes and mischief, so we have banned it. In fact, I think only the married men, the responsible men should carry mobile phones," said Mohammad Akbar, a villager.

Akbar suggested the mobiles should be provided to married men who can handle the gadget 'with responsibility'.

Meanwhile, the village panchayat has also banned the custom of dowry and stressed on compulsory education for children.