diff --git a/pkgs/development/python-modules/urwid/default.nix b/pkgs/development/python-modules/urwid/default.nix
index 6a6cc44d66dcde..01d9523539c50a 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/python-modules/urwid/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/python-modules/urwid/default.nix
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-{ stdenv, buildPythonPackage, fetchPypi, glibcLocales }:
+{ stdenv, buildPythonPackage, isPy3k, fetchPypi, glibcLocales }:
 
 buildPythonPackage rec {
   pname = "urwid";
@@ -13,6 +13,11 @@ buildPythonPackage rec {
   LC_ALL = "en_US.UTF-8";
   checkInputs = [ glibcLocales ];
 
+  # tests which assert on strings don't decode results correctly
+  doCheck = isPy3k;
+
+  pythonImportsCheck = [ "urwid" ];
+
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
     description = "A full-featured console (xterm et al.) user interface library";
     homepage = "http://excess.org/urwid";