JAIPUR: Many Muslim women divorcees are denied government jobs under special quota for single women as they could rarely produce a decree or an affidavit from a court that endorses her separation. Under the single women quota, widows, divorcees and deserted women are entitled to get priority in teaching, nursing, police, clerical and physical training jobs.

However, in Islam, divorce comes into effect just by pronouncing ‘talaq’ thrice in the presence of three witnesses . It does not require filing an application in the family court to get a decree, which is mandatory for others . Rough estimates say over 2,000 divorced Muslim women in the state are qualified to apply for these jobs. But what deters them from it is the absence of a legal document.

“I have applied for a clerical job under special quota for women but was denied it in the absence of any legal document proving my divorce . My ex in-laws have refused to go to court and filed for separation fearing disrespect from society, which is a pre-condition for acquiring affidavit,” said Sehar Qazi ( name changed), a resident of Babu-Ka-Tiba.

On an average, only 5-10 % applications are filed by Muslims in the family court for separation who get a decree from the court. The rest of the cases, however, were settled with the intervention of the elders and clerics. In such cases, women do not get a legal document.

They get a letter from the qazi declaring the break-up . When they apply for job, they were asked to attach a decree or affidavit and mostly end up losing the opportunity.

Nishat Hussain, a social activist working for the rights of Muslim women said: “This is double whammy for divorced Muslim women. At first they were denied shelter from in-laws and parents and secondly they cannot claim state’s benefits .”

Though the government had promised the Muslim bodies of allowing these women get jobs by producing a letter from qazi nothing has come to the light.

