Mobiles causing spurt in rapes?

In an apparently knee-jerk reaction to curb crimes against women in the wake of the Delhi gang rape, a Muslim community panchayat in Rajasthan has issued a diktat banning girls from using mobile phones and singing and dancing at weddings.

In an apparently knee-jerk reaction to curb crimes against women in the wake of the Delhi gang rape, a Muslim community panchayat in Rajasthan has issued a diktat banning girls from using mobile phones and singing and dancing at weddings.

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The Anjuman Muslim Panchayat of Salumber town in Udaipur district, about 450 km south of Jaipur, has imposed the ‘fatwa’ on its members.

“Mobiles are spoiling girls,” panchayat secretary Habib-ur Rahman has told reporters. He said the decision was taken to ensure the safety of girls.

A cross-section of women denounced the edict. Advocate Rizvana Rizvi on Thursday said, “I am completely against this fatwa. Why should restrictions not apply to boys?”