I find the decision cruelly discriminatory. Women are born to be daughters, sisters and mothers. Not to hire a woman because she is pregnant is a baseless argument on the part of the decision makers. They forget that they too were born of a woman! Suppose the woman who is hired becomes pregnant after two months of her appointment, what will the authority do? Terminate her? Instead of doing it, give her sufficient maternity leave. Or does it mean that young married women working as teachers should never get pregnant for fear of losing their jobs? I feel this topic deserves the attention of Human Rights Activists to fight for the rights of women who are still the downtrodden class. Sneha Susan, Kampala, Uganda

UAE, Join the 21st Century! McLamb, Bronx, NY

Being a student but also a woman I would say no. I definitely do not think pregnant women should be teaching. So I do support the decision disallowing pregnant women to be hired as teachers.  Sana, Sharjah

Yes very much. People pay for education and pregnancy stops them from getting it!  Ali, Dubai

There is no harm in retaining them as teachers. Talat, Abu Dhabi

 
Actually, it is wrong for disallowing pregnant women to work. But there is one thing I heard that some women go for 6months leave, which is not right or fair on students or the school. Because half the year is over and if there are many teachers pregnant at the same time then it will affect the school badly. They should maximum go for 3 months (2months allowed by govt. & 1month unpaid leave) There should be some rules followed by teachers. Shazia, Dubai

No, the decision is ridiculous and very very discouraging. Sabiha, Ajman

 
No because then what happens when teachers become pregnant during their career- does that mean they get fired? Since in today's world the majority of elementary school teachers are female, pregnancy then is an obvious part of life. If you don’t want to hire pregant or possibly pregnant teachers, then change your mindset to allow (or make it easier) for MEN to become teachers coz as of right now, males don’t really go into the industry. Gender bias shouldn’t be a reason to prevent teachers from doing what they do…change the world. Amrith, Born in Dubai (now in the US)

Yes, as teaching need full time attention. Sam, Ottawa

 
Unless the woman is putting herself or her baby in danger by teaching, then she should be allowed to do so. Most pregnant women are able to fully function throughout their pregnancy. Elizabeth Beck, Sharjah, UAE

It's a great injustice done to students. Students will have no classes until a substitute is placed and students take time to adjust with the new teacher. Teachers should be people who are permanent on the long run. Now if teachers become pregnant during their permanent job then they should be given leave from the beginning of the academic year until the delivery is over and the teacher is ready to give regular classes. Whether the leave is paid or not should be decided by the institutions. The students should never suffer because of teachers' pregnancy problems. Jaimy, Kerala

 

Why, the pregnancy does not affect woman's teaching ability. In fact she should be given a maternity leave sufficient to be able to take care of the child and herself. It is the most divine to be a mother and you are taking away right to become a mother for the teachers. Rajesh nadkarni, Sharjah

 

It should be their decision. Jaidev, Sharjah