The Punjab State Commission for Women (PSCW) has some unusual advice for new brides. Too many phone conversations are bad for the state of your marriage, they say. They issued an official advisory last week urging newly married wives "to focus on their domestic life instead of having long conversations on mobile phones".
Commission head Gurdev Kaur Sangha told AFP on Monday that the advisory was designed to prevent suspicion between new couples as they adjust to their new life together.
"I found that almost 40 per cent of women consider seeking a divorce on the grounds that her husband and in-laws do not like her talking on mobile phones," said Sangha, 70, from Chandigarh, the state capital of Punjab. "Most husbands said their wives are always on the phone and they doubted their character as they suspected them of talking to ex-boyfriends."
Sangha said she had seen a rise in complaints from women about domestic violence, sexual harassment and family discord due to arguments over brides being constantly on the phone.
The advisory said most newly-married women were actually ringing their parents, not former boyfriends, but warned that passing on hourly updates about their new home was damaging.
It added that brides should make "small adjustments" for at least two years to help build a solid foundation for a marriage.