Several villages in the western Indian state of Gujarat have banned girls and single women from owning mobile phones, saying the devices distract them from their studies.
A couple of villages in Mehsana and Banaskantha districts in Gujarat have imposed the ban in recent weeks, with more villages joining the campaign, said Ranjit Singh Thakor, president of the Mehsana district council. The ban applies to girls under the age of 18 and unmarried women, he said.
"The girls don't study properly if they have mobile phones, and they can get into all sorts of bad situations," he said by telephone.
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