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POVERTY IN
PAKISTAN:
Poverty has
brought Pakistan face to face with a reality that it will find hard to accept:
every third Pakistani is caught in the ‘poor’ bracket i.e. some 58.7 million
out of a total population of 180 million subsist below the poverty line.
LET START FROM the time of partition and independence in
1947, Pakistan inherited the most backward parts of South Asia with only one
university, one Textile Mill and one Jute Factory. The country has made
tremendous progress and its per Capita GNP remains the highest in South Asia.Poverty
in Pakistan has historically been higher in rural areas and lower in the
cities. Out of the total 40 million living below the poverty line, 30 million
live in rural areas.
Poverty
rose sharply in the rural areas in the 1990s and the gap in income between
urban and rural areas of the country became more significant. This trend has
been attributed to a disproportionate impact of economic events in the rural
and urban areas.
Punjab also
has significant gradients in poverty among the different regions of the
province.
The North
West Frontier Province of Pakistan was one of the most backward regions of the
South Asian Subcontinent.
So many
Factors also play a role in Poverty .
Feudalism:
Pakistan is
home to a large feudal landholding system where landholding families hold
thousands of acres and do little work on the agriculture themselves. They
enlist the services of their serfs to perform the labor of the land. 51% of
poor tenants owe money to the landlords. The landlords' position of power
allows them to exploit the only resource the poor can possibly provide: their
own labor.
Poverty and
Gender :
The gender
discriminatory practices in Pakistani society also shape the distribution of poverty
in the country. Traditional gender roles in Pakistan define the woman's place
as in the home and not in the workplace, and define the man as the breadwinner.
Consequently, the society invests far less in women than men. Women in Pakistan
suffer from poverty of opportunities throughout their lives. Female literacy in
Pakistan is 43.6% compared to Male literacy at 68.2%, as of 2008. In
legislative bodies, women constituted less than 3% of the legislature elected
on general seats before 2002. The 1973 Constitution allowed reserved seats for
women in both houses of parliament for a period of 20 years, thus ensuring that
women would be represented in parliament regardless of whether or not they are
elected on general seats. This provision lapsed in 1993, so parliaments elected
subsequently did not have reserved seats for women. Reserved seats for women
have been restored after the election of 2002 .
Economic
and social vulnerability:
Economic
vulnerability is a key factor in the rise of poverty in Pakistan, vulnerability
also arises from social powerlessness, political disenfranchisement, and
ill-functioning and distortionary institutions, and these also are important
causes of the persistence of vulnerability among the poor.
Other
causes of vulnerability in Pakistan
1.Harassment
by corrupt government officials, as well as their underperformance
2.Exclusion and denial of basic rights to many
in Pakistan.
3.Lack of
adequate health care by the state lead the poor to seek private sources, which
are expensive, but still preferable to the possibility of medical malpractice
and being given expired medicines in state run medical facilities.
4.The
failure by the state to provide adequate law and order in many parts of the
country is a factor in the rise of vulnerability of the poor.
Enviornmental Issue :
Enviornmental problems such as erosion, use of
agro-chemicals, deforestation etc. contribute to rising poverty in Pakistan.
Increasing pollution contributes to increasing risk of toxicity, and poor
industrial standards in the country contribute to rising pollution.
Lack of
adequate governance:
By the end
of the 1990s, the manner in which power is exercised in the management of a
country's social and economic resources for development emerged as Pakistan's
foremost developmental problem. Corruption and political instabilities such as
various separatist movements in Balochistan and Waziristan resulted in
reduction of business confidence, deterioration of economic growth, reduced
public expenditure, poor delivery of public services, and undermining of the
rule of law.
Pakistan
has been run by military dictatorships for large periods of time, alternating
with limited democracy.
In
addition, Pakistan's major cities and urban centres are home to an estimated
1.2 million street children. This includes beggars and scavengers who are often
very young. The law and order problem worsens their condition as boys and girls
are fair game to others who would force them into stealing, scavenging and
smuggling to survive. A large proportion consumes readily available solvents to
starve off hunger, loneliness and fear. Children are vulnerable to contracting
STDs such as HIV/AIDS, as well as other diseases.
Inequality
and natural disasters:
Around 95%
of Pakistani citizens polled that they have a fear of complete breakdown of the
country's economy which could ultimately lead to the break of the country. As
compared to China, the rate of increase in poverty and unemployment is very
high in Pakistan. Recently, Pakistani media led a thorough coverage of how
Pakistan's military was holding a large part of the pie of Pakistan's over all
GDP, which has intensified the feeling of limited competition in Pakistani
public.
Regard.
Furqan Ali
Khan
23.10.2012
http://www.facebook.com/pages/DR-Furqan-Ali-Khan/251362514875967?ref=ts&fref=ts
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