Members of the Thakor community in Gujarat's Banaskantha district have issued a diktat banning unmarried women from carrying mobile phones and fining parents of youngsters opting for inter-caste marriages.
The diktat was passed "unanimously" in a meeting on 14 July by elders of the community from 12 villages in the district's Dantiwada taluka, a leader from the community said on Tuesday, 16 July.
Congress MLA Ganiben Thakor said she saw nothing wrong in the move to ban mobile phones for girls. They should stay away from the technology and spend more time studying, she told reporters.
According to the diktat issued at the meeting, "Unmarried woman should not be given mobile phones. If they are caught with mobile phones, their parents will be held responsible."
Parents have been asked not to give phones to their college-going daughters so that they can "focus more on studies rather than waste time on mobile phones", another community leader said.
Other decisions taken included reducing "unnecessary" expenditure on marriage ceremonies by stopping the use of DJ, firecrackers, and elaborate processions.
"The money saved from the practice will be used for the education of community members," Suresh Thakor said.
Those flouting these rules have been threatened with legal action, the elders said at the meeting.
Community leaders received support from Ganiben Thakor, the MLA from Vav Taluka in Banaskantha district.
"As far as mobile phone is concerned, daughters who are unmarried should stay away from technology and spend more time studying. There is nothing wrong in this," she told reporters.
MLA Alpesh Thakor said he welcomed the decisions that curtail unnecessary expenditure incurred on marriages so that more money can be spent on education.
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