Indian village bans women on cellphones

Public officials in a poor village in India have banned women from using cellphones. Sunderbadi village officials said a 10,000 rupee ($182) fine is for any girl caught using a cellphone. Married women will be fined 2,000 rupee ($36.50) for the same offense, Indo Asian News Service reported Monday. The decision was made after a meeting of village elders and its administrative unit. Mohammad Manzoor Alam, the man who presided over the meeting where the ban was enacted, said the group deemed cellphones a moral hazard. "Mobile phone is the cause of all evils in our society, including increasing love affairs and the incidents of elopement," he claimed. Sunderbadi is a Muslim-dominated village where nearly 60 percent of residents live in poverty, IANS said.