Meena Kumari, UP Women's Commission Member Makes Outrageous Claim: Girls Should Not Be Given Cell Phones

A shocking remark by a member of the Uttar Pradesh Women's Commission has underlined the deep-seated misogyny & gender issues that continue to haunt Indian society. In response to a question about increasing rape cases and the state's plans to reduce crime against women, commission member Meena Kumari made some shocking comments. Kumari told reporters "girls should not be given mobile phones" because they "talk with boys and later run away with them". She also called for round-the-clock policing of young women. After her comments triggered a row, Kumari issued a clarification. Kumari insisted she only spoke specifically about girls because she had been informed "of a case like this". Video snippets of Kumar's first quote have been widely shared online, with Swati Maliwal, the Chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women, among the most forceful critics. Meena Kumari's comment comes months after a member of the National Commission for Women, Chandramukhi Devi, said the gangrape & murder of a 50-year-old woman in UP’s Budaun could have been avoided if she had not gone out in the evening.