Gujjars now come up with ban on jeans & mobiles for girls

The Gujjar community took a leaf out of the Taliban’s book, banning jeans and mobile phones for girls at a panchayat in Saharanpur on Saturday night. Community members from 52 villages of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana assembled near Vijay Singh Pathik Girls’ School and announced that girls would henceforth be forbidden from wearing jeans and using mobile phones. However, in all likelihood, the powerful panchayat will face stiff opposition from the clan’s girls who have liberated themselves from what they dub as “ narrow mindedness”.

It was decided at the panchayat that those who defy the latest self- formulated law of the community would be punished. Sources revealed that the Gujjars had decided to first issue a warning to the parents of girls of the community who were seen in jeans or with cellphones. If they don’t obey the command, the elders of the community would ostracise the family to mount pressure on them to fall in line.

“ No members of the public were intimated about the meeting. They convened the panchayat after a door- todoor consultation with senior members of the community in the two states.

Nothing else was discussed. Some members didn’t agree with the final decision, but they remained a silent minority,” a panchayat member said.

Yashpal Singh, a senior member of the community in Saharanpur, confirmed that a ban had been enforced on girls wearing jeans and using mobile phones. “ We believe jeans and mobile phones are making our girls immoral. So we finally took a decision. We know that a few members of the community may oppose the decision. But we also know how to make them follow instructions,” Singh said in a threatening tone.

But Rani Gujjar, an undergraduate student of Saharanpur openly criticised the panchayat edict. “ There is nothing wrong or vulgar about jeans. They cover our body. And a mobile phone is a must. It helps us stay in touch with our parents.

It also enables us to send an SOS to them when we are in trouble.” Making it clear that she wouldn’t be cowed, Rani added: “ I am not going to pay attention to such dictatorial orders. If my parents don’t object to my wearing jeans or carrying a cellphone, who are these people to control our lives?” The sentiment was, however, not the same across the board.

Namrata, another Gujjar student of Saharanpur, was somewhat submissive. “ It is alright with me. I will not wear jeans if they don’t like it. But limited use of mobile phones should be permitted,” she said.

Gujjars are known to be a tribe which strictly adheres to old traditions and customs. For instance, child marriages are still rampant among them. Earlier in the year, a khap panchayat or self- styled caste council in Muzaffarnagar banned girls from wearing jeans. The decision was endorsed by the heads of other such councils, who said the ban was necessary for preventing young couples in their villages from eloping.

In 2009, colleges in Kanpur prohibited girl students from wearing jeans and other western clothes. Their rationale: this would halt sexual harassment by male classmates.