A society in transition: Women banned from using mobile phones in India Villages

A village council in the Indian state of Bihar has banned all women from using mobile phones. Council members believe that the phones "debase the social atmosphere" saying that they promote extramarital affairs and unsanctioned marriages and erode the moral fabric of society. Married women will be allowed to use them only indoors and in the presence of a relative. Rights organizations have roundly condemned the decision.

Women's rights groups have reacted with amazement to the decision by the village in northeastern India to ban women from having mobile phones. "It's a completely stupid, ridiculous and unnecessary thing which reflects really on the fear that men have of women's independence and autonomy," says Urvashi Butalia, a prominent women's rights advocate and founder of the women's publishing company, Zubaan in New Delhi.
The village, roughly 385 kilometers (239 miles) east of Patna, the capital of Buhar. The population of Bihar is 104 million, larger than any European country and one third the population of the United States.

The most recent ban, comes after a July ban on mobile phones for girls in the Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh. This was followed by a ban in August on mobile phones for girls under age 18 in Jhunjhunu district's Udaipurwati in Rajasthan, according to The Times of India.

In Rajasthan, the ban was issued so that girls would not be “spoiled” by excessive use of cellphones. In UP the ban on mobile phones also included a ban on women under the age of 40 going shopping un-escorted by a man.

What's your take on this situation?