AHMEDABAD: More than 51% of women in Gujarat do not own a mobile phone, while over 567 out of
the total 18,425 villages in the state remain without mobile access. Also, despite the nationwide rollout of 5G, over 800 villages in Gujarat are without 4G service, the state’s Kheda MP and Minister of State for Telecom Devusinh Chauhan informed the Lok Sabha in response to Telangana Congress MP Anumula Revanth Reddy’s question.
The most affected by the lack of mobile connectivity are tribal areas, says telecom sector expert Vishal Jadav. “Mobile connectivity has not been achieved even today, despite the many claims of the government, particularly in Gujarat’s tribal areas,” he says, enumerating that the tribal-dominated Dang district has approximately 90 villages that do not have mobile connectivity, followed by the Kutch and Narmada districts, where 84 and 64 villages, respectively, don’t have service.
“Private companies do not set up towers in areas where mobile phone usage or people’s income is low, but the government has its own mobile company, so the question is why don’t they bring the service to these areas? In ‘Digital India’, hearing about a village without a mobile phone seems strange,” adds Jadav. According to the information tabled by the telecom department in the Lok Sabha, citing the National Family Health 2019-2021 report, only 48.80% of women in the age group of 15-49 years in Gujarat have their own mobile phone.
“This reflects that there is gender inequality on a large scale in society of Gujarat. Women are denied modern technology and that they don’t have the kind of income,” says economist Indira Hirve.
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