Understanding Poverty in Pakistan: Causes, Impacts, and Strategies for Alleviation:

Poverty:

 

Pakistan is a poor country. Most of its inhabitants have a low standard of living. Poverty is also an important social problem of Pakistan. It includes people whose economic and social resources are limited.

 

What is poverty?

 

The people whose income is not according to their needs are called poor and such a condition is called poverty. The failure of an individual to obtain his basic necessities of life (food, shelter and clothing) is called poverty.

 

 

"Absence to maintain basic needs of life is called poverty."

 

According to the Dictionary of Sociology

 

Poverty is a condition in which an individual or family lacks adequate food, clothing and shelter.

 

Poverty Line According to World Bank (2005)

 

A poor person is anyone whose daily income is less than 1.25 US dollars (357.50 Pakistani rupees).

The poverty line shows the difference between the rich and the poor.

 

   

Types of Poverty:

 

There are two types of poverty:

 

1.Absolute poverty:

Mooney and Schacht write in their book ((understanding social problems )  that when the absence of resources causes people to suffer from hunger, poverty and deprivation and If this condition is permanent and prolonged, such a condition is called absolute poverty. And the  people who are in this situation are called absolute poor.

 

In this class, the lowest member of a the society are included.

These are the people who are unable to eat two meals a day on a regular basis. There don’t have proper dress to wear and no roof or house to live in.

 

2.  Relative Poverty:

 

If a person's resources are less than others, then such a person will be called Relative Poor and such a condition is called relative poverty. There is no consistent measure to measure relative poverty. It is possible that a person earns million of rupees per month, but when he is compared to people who earn more than him, then such a person feels poor among those who are richer than him. If it happens to people, then this person will be called rich instead of extra poor. In fact, extra poverty is always evident by comparing and contrasting with the members of the society.

 

Poverty is a social problem:

 Poverty is a serious social problem of Pakistan. Poverty is a condition that almost two-thirds of the society has come under. Poverty is a social disease due to which people are distressed and their basic needs are not met. Poverty is the disease that causes in people depression, anxiety and hypertension.

 

Due to poverty, the pace of social development has slowed down. People are discontented due to poverty. Due to which there is anger in them against the rich people of the society.

And they are waiting for a revolution to take revenge from them. These are the poor people who lack financial resources. Their breasts are filled with feelings of rebellion against the rich. Due to poverty, the society is divided into economic classes. One is the class that has everything and the other is the poor people who have nothing.

 

The fire of conflict against each other is burning in these levels. Due to poverty, the rich and the poor are living in poverty. Due to which disorder and chaos has occurred in the society. Beggars were born from poverty, which is one of our problems. Due to poverty, financial crimes are especially prevalent in society and many criminals have turned to theft, robbery, cattle rustling, pickpocketing, brigandage, piracy, fraud and looting as their profession. Such people are called professional criminals. Sometimes killings occur while committing these crimes.

 

Poverty is the main social problem of Pakistan. Because people are very worried about the future of their young ones.

Therefore, we should get rid of it as soon as possible.  poverty can be removed by collective efforts of people.

 

The situation of poverty in Pakistan:

 

According to latest  Economic Survey of Pakistan, more than 40% of total population are suffering from poverty in the country. Whereas in 1990, 30% of Pakistan's population was suffering from poverty. If Pakistan's economic and political situation does not improve, poverty will increase. While poverty is higher in rural areas than in cities.

 

Methods of measuring poverty:

 

 Poverty is measured by these methods.

 
 

1-On the Basis of Income:

 

In this, the difference between the poor and the rich is made on the basis of income. For example, at present every person whose daily income is less than 360 rupees is poor.

 

2- On the Basis of Per day Caloric Intake:

 

The difference between the rich and the poor is on the daily caloric intake. For example, every person who eats less than 2350 calories per day is poor.

 

 3- On the Basis of Resource:

 

It includes all those who lack resources and opportunities to live.

 

Theoretical Perspectives on Poverty:

 

The theories of poverty in sociology are as follows:

 

1 Functionalist Perspective:

According to functionalist perspective, poverty is beneficial to the society to a certain extent. Because the presence of the poor indicates the presence of the rich, if there are no poor, then the presence of the rich will not be felt. According to them, due to poverty, those who work in the Poverty eliminate  Program get employment. Moreover, the poor do the work of the lowest level of society which keeps the society alive. If there are no poor people, there will be no one to do these things. That is why poverty is found in all societies of the world.

 

2 Conflict Perspective:

According to them, the cause of poverty is the capitalist class, who own the means of production and exploit the poor workers (proletarians) and give them low wages and absorb all the profits themselves.

 

3- Interactionist schools of thought:

They emphasize how definitions and meanings of concepts affect social life. According to them, society defines people as rich and poor through interaction. According to this school, the meaning of rich and poor changes with time and era. A group may be considered poor for one society while not considered poor in another society. Every society has its own definition of poverty. For example, lack of material resources in the country is poverty, while lack of food in the eyes of women in the same society is poverty.

 

4. Interactionist Perspective:

 

Poverty is found in all societies of the world, the only difference is its rate of reduction or excess. According to an estimate of the Food and Agriculture Organization  about 963 million people in the world are suffering from poverty.

 

Causes of Poverty:

 

Thus, poverty is a very complex problem that has many causes. But some of the important reasons are as follows.

 

1-      Feudal System:

Feudal system in Pakistan is very strict. While this system created other problems, it also promoted poverty and social injustice. 68% of Pakistan's population lives in rural areas. According to an estimate, 80% of Pakistan's total agricultural land is held by landlords and they constitute about 20% of the total population. While 80% of the rural population depends on only 20% of agricultural land. Due to this great injustice, our poor farmer is exploited by these landlords. This feudal system siphons off a large portion of the income from agriculture because they own the estates and the poor  peasants  can only earn low, even they cannot fulfil their basic needs. Poverty arises from this situation.

 

2.       Unequal distribution of wealth:

No matter how rich the economic conditions of Pakistan are, the situation of the poor here is always worse. It has the wealth but unequal distribution of resources. Because there are a few hundred families who own the estates, factories and businesses of the country and they are making huge profits while the poor are left to watch. This is the reason that Pakistan has been established 76 years but the condition of the poor has not changed here and the rich have become richer than the rich.

 

3-Increase in population growth:

Population growth is a natural phenomenon. But this increase creates problems when there is not enough increase in economic resources. At present the total population of Pakistan is about 23 crores which is growing at an annual rate of 2.6%. According to economists, the economic growth rate should be eight times higher than the population growth rate, then population growth is not a problem. The situation is slightly different in Pakistan, where the population growth rate is high and the economic growth rate is low. This is why poverty and problems are arising.

4- Lack of capacity:

The main cause of poverty is lack of capacity to acquire economic resources. Capacity of economic resources includes higher education, technical education and the ability being successful in trade and business. Industrial development is also included in the capacity of the individual. So the lack of efficiency of economic resources is a major reason.

 

5- Avoidance of labor:

Avoidance of people to work also brings poverty. By not working hard, they neither develop themselves nor develop their abilities. People who avoid working hard are left behind in the acquisition of social skills.

 

6- Idleness:

People who waste their precious time, i.e. are suffering from idleness, who find it difficult to do the work with the available resources and opportunities. Such persons waste their numbers and resources, poverty is certain for them.

 

 

7- Wasteful Spending:

Waste of economic resources also brings poverty. This includes wasteful spending. Proper utilization and saving of wealth are the principles of social development. Wasteful spending creates social evils. Wealth is also lost and bad habits are formed. These bad habits have bad effects on life. This is also an important issue of poverty. Failure to increase resources also leads to poverty.

 

8- Lack of technical training:

Technical education creates wealth. Expertise in electricity, wood, iron and steel is important in economic development. In the modern scientific era, industrial and craft development is social development. Even in agriculture, mechanized farming has become industrial agriculture. Therefore, the people who have no training are neither unemployed nor lack of economic resources. But if there is no technical training, employment opportunities are less.

 

9- unemployment:

unemployment is also included in it. Unemployed is useless. Unemployment is the key to poverty. Unemployment is a problem that affects the productivity of individuals. But he does not get a chance to work as a wage earner. In this, the individual is not declared as the cause of poverty, but the society and culture in which he lives is responsible. That the society did not provide him with employment according to his capacity and did not give him the opportunity to work and he remains unemployed  and fell into poverty. Our culture is mostly non-technical. Therefore, it cannot absorb the unemployed people completely.

 

10-  yesterday's misconception:

The efforts people make to achieve their goals and those efforts are made in an illogical and unscientific manner, then such efforts fail. And the achievement of goals is ineffective. People call it bad destiny. People lose their confidence in hard work, while their hard work is devoid of logical and scientific methods. Similarly, yesterday's theory is misinterpreted. A useful part of the society becomes useless and wasted. Such people do not have financial resources, people do not pay attention to these things. They lead a life of poverty.

 

11 - Wrong religious belief:

People of religious mind who do not apply logical and scientific pressure on their actions when there is any shortcoming or lack, they do not adopt a logical and scientific approach in the performance of good deeds and to remove those shortcomings.

 

12- Illiteracy:

There is a close relationship between illiteracy and poverty. People who are less educated. Live a low standard of living. One of the reasons for the increasing poverty rate in Pakistan is illiteracy.

 

13- Globalization:

Third world  especially the increasing rate of poverty in Pakistan is also a cause of globalization. The arrival of modern technology from developed countries has made people unemployed. Now machines are replacing humans. Thus the daily products which are available in Pakistan at low prices from other countries have left Pakistani products far behind. This has increased unemployment and poverty.

 

14-  Unconfirmed Government:

In the past many years, no government in Pakistan has completed its term of office Assemblies are suspended due to unavoidable circumstances. The effect of which falls on  circumstances, investment and economic institutions.

 And as a result a common man is affected.

 

Impacts of Poverty:

 

The effects of poverty are:

1-Low educational standard:

Due to poverty people cannot get education and remain illiterate. Some people, due to economic problems, reject education in the middle of the road and start doing menial labor. The middle class of the society will remain illiterate.

 

2-      Poor Quality of Health:

 

There is a deep connection. Poor people are more sick than the rich and the main reason for this is their unfitness due to eating substandard food. Because of poverty, people cannot get proper treatment and they cannot buy medicines

The situation is worse in villages as health facilities are non-existent. And coming to cities for treatment is beyond the access of the poor. The result of which is that they are unable to afford better treatment and  lose their health become jobless and this cause poverty.

 

 

3 Low Social Status:

Wealth plays a major role in determining social status. In our society, the status of the rich is much higher than the poor and it is only because of wealth. When a person lives a life of poverty, his status also falls. People don't build relationships with such a person, they consider him to be mean and inferior. Therefore, the more material resources a person has, the higher his honour and status will be in the society.

 

4-crime rate:

 Crimes occur due to lack of economic resources. When the basic needs of man are not fulfilled, he will fulfill them by violating the norms. Because of this, crimes will also be committed. He will not avoid breaking the law.

 

5- Beggary:

Beggars were born out of poverty. Who made begging their profession. Thus, a large number of beggars are seen walking around in the society. Begging takes legitimate advantage of people's moral, religious and traditional values. And people are begged by feigning disability. Or the moral and religious sentiments of people are taken advantage of by expressing their poverty. People now understand and help them for the sake of humanity.

 

 

 6- Social evils:

The houses of those living in poverty are cramped and dark, where social evils are also created in addition to having a bad effect on their health.

7- Distance from religion:

These people are generally distant from religion. Prayer, fasting, Hajj, Zakat, etc. are often far away from Shariah functions. And by calling themselves the mlungs , they put the fear of their greatness on people and pretend that their prayers are accepted. The good people of the society get trapped in their circle and start showering wealth on them by believing in them.

 

8-Drug Abuse:

Such poor people are usually addicted to drugs and shout in front of the half unconscious people on the roadside. Most of them are beggars. Such poor people were also found suffering from social evils like gambling, theft and adultery.

 

9 - Low standard of education:

Due to poverty, the educational standard of people is low. Also, poverty arises due to lack of education.

10- Decrease in social status:

Poverty lowers the social status of individuals and does not allow the status of the individual to rise.

 

11- Low standard of living:

 Due to poverty, the standard of living of people is low. They cannot meet their needs.

 

12- Low quality of health:

Due to poverty, the health quality of people is also low. Because health requires resources.

 

 Reduction Measures:

The following measures are necessary for poverty alleviation:

 

1-      Elimination of unemployment:

 

Unemployment should be eliminated from the society. No man should be idle every man must work. He must earn as much as he spends.

 

 

2-      Hard work:

 

Turn unemployment into hard work. Do what you can. In this way unemployment which is the main cause of poverty will end.

 

3-Technical training of beggars:

No man should be allowed to beg. Poor houses should be opened for all beggars. They should be given food, clothes, etc. Expenses should be met from Zakat and Ushar Fund. Such work should be taken from these people so that they can do other things such as sewing, house building, furniture making, etc. After the training is completed, they should be employed or they will work automatically and stop begging.

 

4-Prevention of wasteful expenditure:

 Resources should not be wasted in wasteful expenditure. A moral, educational and legal campaign should be launched against extravagance and social evils such as drunken adultery.

 5- Technical and semi-technical training:

Technical and semi-technical training should be taken. It is mandatory for every person to learn some skill in order to be able to do some work. Which will increase the resources. Things will be better, employment will increase and poverty will be removed.

 

 6- Technical training of women:

Women who are half of our society have a small percentage of employment. All others are unemployed. Most of them are women who engage in their professional work in rural areas and work alongside men.  Only those women who do not do housework or any other technical work are useless. Such women should be given technical and semi-technical training.

 

7- Collection of funds for the poor:

An organization called Darul Masakeen should be established at every district level for beggars. In which beggars should be locked up and given all necessary facilities. Often the beggars who are intoxicated can also be treated at this place. Those people should be taught skills that they like.

 

8-Promote Literacy:

Education makes a person skilled and teaches ways of social life. Education gives awareness to the individual and gives him opportunities to lead a better life. Moreover, education is a means of increasing the income of individuals. Educated people get better employment . Their income is higher than uneducated people. Education is very important in the face of poverty until we equip people with the jewel of education, it is impossible to eradicate poverty from the country. Therefore, the government should take better and effective measures to promote literacy so that a good and better society is established.

 

9-Promote Industry:

A section of the society is poor only because it is unemployed. If employment is made available to them, such people should come out of poverty. Industries are the main source of employment and employment generation. It has been observed that the standard of living of people in industrial areas is better. But there is a lack of industries in Pakistan, so if we promote our industries, it will have double benefits, firstly, people will get employment, which will reduce poverty, and the other benefit is that the economic condition of the country will improve. .

 

10- Effective Planning:

 Poverty is a big and complicated problem that has many causes. Unless there is an effective plan for the eradication of poverty at the national level, it is impossible to eradicate poverty, so the government institutions should use all their resources and make an effective plan to eradicate it.