Muzaffarnagar, India (AHN) – Council members in a northern Indian state have banned unmarried women from carrying mobile telephones. The measure was enacted to put an end to number of inter-caste illicit romances.

The Baliyan council in Uttar Pradesh state decided to act following news that dozens of young couples eloped against their parents’ wishes over the last year.

Local women’s rights groups criticized the measure as backwards and unfair.

The decrees of inter-caste marriages are complicated and adherence remains extremely rigid in many rural communities in India. Some lovers have been murdered in “honor killings” in an effort to protect a family’s reputation.

According to police 34 couples eloped last month in Muzaffarnagar district, where Uttar Pradesh state. The elopements led to eight honor killings.

“All parents were told to ensure their unmarried daughters do not use cell phones. The boys can do so, but only under their parents’ monitoring,” said Satish Tyagi, a spokesman for the village assembly.

Caste discrimination is banned in India however it is still thoroughly ingrained in many areas of of daily life, especially outside the country’s largest cities. Caste categories in Hindu society are broken down as follows, brahmins (priests and scholars), kshatriya (soldiers), vaishya (merchants) and shudra (labourers).

Followed underneath the caste system are the Dalits, formerly known as “Untouchables”.

Conservative families typically only marry within their own caste sub-division.

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