Indian Town Outlaws Cell Phones for Single Women

A council in northern India has forbidden all unmarried women from carrying cell phones, in an effort to prevent them from eloping with people of different castes. At least 23 young couples ran off and got married without their parents’ consent last year in Uttar Pradesh state, the AFP explains. “The panchayat (assembly) was convinced that the couples planned their elopement over their cell phones,” said one village elder.

“All parents were told to ensure their unmarried daughters do not use cell phones. The boys can do so, but only under their parents' monitoring,” said an assembly spokesman. (More caste system stories.)