Court orders female teacher be posted in Lahore from Nankana

Heart-patient made to travel 6 to 7 hours to work everyday, despite job vacancies in the city.

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Friday directed the Punjab government and the school education secretary to order postings of the women deputy district officers (Education) strictly under the government’s wedlock policy.

The petition was filed by Majid Hussain, a journalist. He said that his wife, Rubina Miraj, had been a government teacher for the last 13 years.

She was currently serving as a deputy district officer in Nankana Sahib in BS-18, he said. He told the court that some jobs in that grade were lying vacant in Lahore.

Petitioner’s counsel Azhar Siddique said that the position at Nankana Sahib was meant for males but the wife of the petitioner had been posted there because of political pressure. She was the only woman among 123 officers posted against a male seat, the counsel added. Advocate Siddique further said that the petitioner was a heart-patient and needed constant care. He said his wife had to travel 6 to 7 hours everyday to get to work and back. The counsel argued that the respondent authorities were under legal and moral obligation to post her in Lahore district. Justice Tariq Javed after hearing the arguments ordered the respondent to post the petitioner’s wife in Lahore district.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 30^th, 2010.