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Panchayat diktat makes girls 'immobile' in Madhubani

PATNA: A village panchayat in Madhubani has decided to take away mobile phones from "young unmarried girls" and ban them from venturing out after dark, ostensibly to check crimes against women.


The diktats were issued at a meeting of Hatthapur Parsa panchayat under Basopatti block late on Monday evening.

It was also decided at the meeting that women will not be allowed to go out to defecate in the open after 8 pm.

"It was unanimously decided not to allow any unmarried girl to use mobile phone. If required, the girls will talk to the person concerned in the presence of their parents or any other family member," Acting sarpanch of the panchayat Yogendra Mandal said on Tuesday.

The panchayat has also announced to socially boycott those girls and women who dare to dance at wedding functions. It also threatened to impose a fine on the girls' families if they violated the diktat, Mandal added.

Stop playing Bhojpuri songs at wedding parties: Panchayat

It was also decided by the panchayat not to play Bhojpuri songs at wedding functions or any other celebrations in the village. Only Hindi and Maithili songs will be allowed. “The parents have been told to ensure the decisions are not violated,” Mandal said.

Former mukhiya Sanyog Lal Yadav, who presided over Tuesday’s meeting, said the ruling followed the demand of some women members and parents as excessive use of mobile for listening to music and talking to men led to crime against women. “There have been instances when girls and boys came in contact with each other through mobile phones,” he said. The residents of Parsa village took the initiative, which was appreciated by residents of neighbouring villages. The cases of elopement of college and school girls had increased alarmingly in the villages falling under the panchayat, the former mukhiya pointed out.

The sarpanch Madal, however, hastened to add that at present there was no provision of imposing penalty on those violating the order. “Initially parents shall ensure implementation of this order on their own. If the situation doesn’t improve, then we will take other stringent measures like imposing fine,” he said. Another member of the panchayat Rajnandan Prasad said the motive behind the excise is to maintain social harmony in the area. “The situation has aggravated to such an extent that parents are worried about the career of their children. The excessive use of mobile phones has ruined the career of many brilliant students,” he added.

The SHO of Parsa police station Indal Yadav said, “We don’t have any objection if the panchayat members do such things to maintain social harmony and peace. But action will be initiated against them if any penalty is imposed.

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