Jodhpur: A community panchayat in Jalore district has barred daughters-in-law and young women from 15 villages from using phones with cameras from Jan 26 onward. Not only that, even taking such a phone to a public function or to a neighbour’s house will also be prohibited. The women will be allowed to use keypad phones instead of smartphones.This decision was taken during a meeting of the Chaudhary community of Sundhamata Patti in Gazipur village, held Sunday under the chairmanship of Sujnaram Chaudhary, president of the 14 “pattis”. The decision has been attributed to the growing addiction to smartphones and reel mania.Panch Himmtaram announced the decision, saying that after discussions among all the panch members and the community, it was decided that daughters-in-law and young women, especially school and college-going girls, of 15 villages would only use keypad phones. “Along with this, if it is necessary for school-going girls to have mobile phones for their studies, they may use them only at home. They are not allowed to take mobile phones to weddings, social events, or even to a neighbour’s house,” he announced.Sujanaram Choudhary said consensus was reached at the community meet on the need to protect the younger generation from misuse of mobile phones.
