“Girls should not be given mobile phones. Girls talk with boys on phones for hours and later run away with them. Their phones are not even checked and family members are unaware of these things,” Meena Kumari said.
In a shocking statement, a member of the UP Women’s Commission on Thursday said that girls should be kept away from their mobile phones and their movements should be monitored to keep them safe from getting raped.
“Girls should not be given mobile phones. Girls talk with boys on phones for hours and later run away with them. Their phones are not even checked and family members are unaware of these things,” Meena Kumari said.
BIZARRE comment by Meena Kumari, a member of the UP Women Commission.
“Girls should not be given mobile phones. They talk to boys and later elope with them.”@NCWIndia @sharmarekha ji, do you approve of this statement? pic.twitter.com/HrSICrGL0l
— Prashant Kumar (@scribe_prashant) June 10, 2021
According to a video circulating on the internet, when asked about the increasing number of rape cases in different parts of the state, Kumari said the society itself would have to be serious about the increasing crimes against women.
She also said that parents, especially mothers, have a big responsibility and should monitor their daughters.
“Mothers have a big responsibility. Today, if their daughters are careless, then mothers are responsible for that,” she further said.
Anju Chaudhary, the vice-chairperson of the commission, distanced herself from the remarks and said that taking away mobile phones was not a solution to end sexual violence, TOI reported.
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Meena Kumari later tried to clarify her remarks saying girls from villages don’t know “how to use phones in the right way.” She said girls use phones to make friendship with males and then run away. She said smartphones are also being used to watch inappropriate content.
When Kumari was questioned on how mobile phones are linked to rape, she added saying, “On a daily basis, I hear complaints of at least 20 women and 5-6 cases are related to friendships on phones and its fallouts. In some cases, girls were lured and then sexually abused.”
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