Indian state makes men with two wives ineligible for Urdu teacher post

Move causes uproar as Muslims see it as a violation of their rights

The Indian government's decision not to allow a person with two wives to be recruited as an Urdu teacher has caused uproar as Muslims see the move as a violation of their rights, according to the Indian Express.

India's Uttar Pradesh (UP) government recently issued a notice for the appointment of 3,500 Urdu teachers, stating that candidates applying for the job must reveal their marital status. Men with two wives, both living, would be considered ineligible for the post, the order stated.



The order, however, was not only for male candidates, it applied to women too. According to the notice, any woman who is married to a man with two wives, both living, will be unfit for the position of an Urdu teacher in primary schools.

Upon being questioned, UP's Basic Education Minister Ahmad Hasan said the order was passed to avoid problems over who would receive pension after an employee's death.

“This has been done to remove confusion as to who should be the beneficiary in case of the employee’s death,” he said. The Muslim Personal Law Board, however, said these riders violated the rights of Muslims.



“Government cannot impose such conditions when it comes to recruitment of staff. There is a provision for four marriages in Islam, even though just about one per cent of Muslim men have two wives. Even so, such conditions should not become part of the job application process,” Imam of Lucknow’s Eidgah and member of the Muslim Personal Law Board Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali said.

He further suggested that if a man dies leaving behind two wives, the government may divide the pension between the two. “If the government has other issues, we can think of solutions,” he said.

Meanwhile, an official of the education department explained that the condition was not for Urdu teachers alone, but for teachers of all subjects, working in government schools.

This article originally appeared on The Indian Express.