Poverty And Our Society

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Poverty means the state of being extremely poor. Poverty is the lack of basic human needs. Mahatma Gandhi says "Poverty is the worst form of violence."(Google: Quotes about poverty, Mahatma Gandhi).

In the essay I discuss about the life of poor people and their effects on the society

Poverty is widespread in Pakistan and is particularly predominant in rural areas. Poverty is the lack of basic human needs, such as clean water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter because of the powerlessness to afford them. This is also referred to as absolute poverty.

Poverty is a basic problem of a country. Because of poverty a country can never progress. According to Mother Teresa "The greatest disease in the West today is not TB or leprosy; it is being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for. We can cure physical diseases with medicine, but the only cure for loneliness, despair, and hopelessness is love. There are many in the world who are dying for a piece of bread but there are many more dying for a little love. The poverty in the West is a different kind of poverty -- it is not only a poverty of loneliness but also of spirituality. There's a hunger for love, as there is a hunger for God." (Mother Teresa, A Simple Path: Mother Teresa)

Relative poverty is the condition of having fewer resources or less income than others within a society or country. Pakistan is a developing country and literacy rate of Pakistan is very low. Most of the people have no awareness about earning sources. Most people have no experience for their business needs, that’s why their business do not fulfill the international standard and result as decrease in proceeds which lead the humanity to poor financial environment.

On the other hand, people are not ready to help each other. At last everyone has lose his trust on others which affect our social and economic system and it is another cause of poverty.

Pakistan is an agricultural country. Most of the people are farmers by occupation. One has land and he meets the needs of his family but he has to divide the land into his children when they got young. After the division the land is not sufficient to support a family. Now the families of his children are suffering and spending their lives below poverty line.

Another main reason for the poverty is the social dishonesty and irresponsible behavior of people. Everyone is trying to get rich by using unfair means. A shopkeeper is ready to get whole money from the pocket of customer. People doings jobs are not performing their duties well. In society the man considered brave who do not pay taxis or continuously violate laws. This irresponsible behavior continuously increases and produces loss for the country.

Poverty is at alarming level in Pakistan and the people who are already rich becoming more rich and the number of poor people is increasing day by day. This is only due to the defective policies of the government.

Thus poverty is distressing the societies in many ways, diseases are more widely spread because poor people cannot afford hygienic foods and pure drinking water which is much expensive. Many infants born into poverty have a low birth weight which is related many mental and physical disabilities. Not only are these poor infants more likely to be irritable or sickly, they are also more likely to die. Poor families experience much more stress than middle class families. Besides financial uncertainty, these families are more likely to be series of negative events including illness, depression, jobless, criminal oppression and family death.

Homelessness or extreme poverty carries with it a particularly strong set of risks for families, especially children. Homeless children do not receive proper nutrition and other facilities. They experience more health problems.

Sometimes poverty occurs when rich people wants to become more and more rich. If a man needs only one house then he should not build more than it and if he has only two kids then there should be only two rooms for them instead of more than it. According to Tupac Shakur "There’s no way that Michael Jackson or whoever Jackson should have a million thousand droople billion dollars and then there’s people starving. There’s no way! There’s no way that these people should own planes and there people don’t have houses. Apartments. Shacks. Drawers. Pants! I know you’re rich. I know you got 40 billion dollars, but can you just keep it to one house? You only need ONE house. And if you only got two kids, can you just keep it to two rooms? I mean why have 52 rooms and you know there’s somebody with no room?! It just don’t make sense to me. It don’t."( Tupac Shakur)

The large number of population of Pakistan lives in rural areas and they do not have awareness around the world and they also do not want to leave their native village or a town. So, they cannot find employment and the whole family depend only on the labor where from they get a very minimum income and they always live from hand to mouth.

A man should get married only when he can afford his expenses and can buy foods and clothes for his children and his wife. If a man is poor then he should not get married very soon because if he married very soon then he can't meet to his expenses. If a man thinks that he can afford the expenses of his family then he should get married. According to the Martin Luther "Although it is very easy to marry a wife, it is very difficult to support her along with the children and the household. Accordingly, no one notices this faith of Jacob. Indeed, many hate fertility in a wife for the sole reason that the offspring must be supported and brought up. For this is what they commonly say: ‘Why should I marry a wife when I am a pauper and a beggar? I would rather bear the burden of poverty alone and not load myself with misery and want.’ But this blame is unjustly fastened on marriage and fruitfulness. Indeed, you are indicting your unbelief by distrusting God’s goodness, and you are bringing greater misery upon yourself by disparaging God’s blessing. For if you had trust in God’s grace and promises, you would undoubtedly be supported. But because you do not hope in the Lord, you will never prosper." (Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, The: 7 Volumes)

On the other hand, some poor people are very hard working men. In the villages there are very large number of poor people. They live from hand to mouth. Jobs are not easily available in the villages. Most of the poor people who live in rural areas work hard in the fields. Poverty is a very shameful thing for the poor people. That's why a poor people lways want to avoid from poverty. In fact, poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.

We should help the poor people so that they can get education and can perform their capabilities. There are many ways to help the poor people. For example in Islam a tax that is Zakat is taken from the poor people and it is given to the poor people. Muhammad Yunus says "When we want to help the poor, we usually offer them charity. Most often we use charity to avoid recognizing the problem and finding the solution for it. Charity becomes a way to shrug off our responsibility. But charity is no solution to poverty. Charity only perpetuates poverty by taking the initiative away from the poor. Charity allows us to go ahead with our own lives without worrying about the lives of the poor. Charity appeases our consciences." (Muhammad Yunus, Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty)

It is our moral duty to help the poor people. We should help them for the sake of Allah. We should help the poor people because they are also the part of our society and it is our religious obligation. (O Prophet!) Tell those of My servants who believe that they should establish Prayer and spend out of what We have provided them with, both secretly and openly, before there arrives the Day when there will be no bargaining, nor any mutual befriending. (14:31)

We should help the poor people to enable them to live their life at some better status. We should help them for the goodwill of Allah and for the improvement of standard of a society. It is our moral duty. Islam teaches us the same thing. Moreover everyone in the society should be equal. In this way we can remove the word of poverty from a society. Here is another thing if poverty removes from a society then we should not forget it because it can reappear in the form of any other thing. Muhammad Yunus says "Once poverty is gone, we'll need to build museums to display its horrors to future generations. They'll wonder why poverty continued so long in human society - how a few people could live in luxury while billions dwelt in misery, deprivation and despair."( Muhammad Yunus,

Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism)

Poverty causes hunger. Not every poor person is hungry, but almost all hungry people are poor. Millions live with hunger and malnourishment because they simply cannot afford to buy enough food, cannot afford nutritious foods or cannot afford the farming supplies they need to grow enough good food of their own . Hunger can be viewed as a dimension of extreme poverty. It is often called the most severe and critical manifestation of poverty.Poverty has many causes , some of them are very basic. Some experts suggest, for instance, that the world has too many people, too few jobs, and not enough food. But such basic causes are quite intractable and not easily eradicated. In most cases, the causes and effects of poverty interact, so that what makes people poor also creates conditions that keep them poor. There are many other factors that may lead to poverty such as unequal distribution of wealth, overpopulation, inability to meet high standard of living and employment opportunities. Henri J.M.Nouwen says "We cannot suffer with the poor when we are unwilling to confront those persons and systems that cause poverty. We cannot set the captives free when we do not want to confront those who carry the keys. We cannot profess our solidarity with those who are oppressed when we are unwilling to confront the oppressor. Compassion without confrontation fades quickly to fruitless sentimental commiseration. (p. 122)" ( Henri J. M. Nouwen Donald P. McNeill Douglas A. Morrison)

Now the question is that how can we solve the problem of poverty? There are many ways to solve the poverty. One is that the government should provide the jobs in industries and in all the other fields in which a poor man can earn a part of money for his family and for himself. This is because unemployment is one of the basic cause of poverty. If unemployment removes from a society then we can easily solve the problems of poor people. A poor people can only meet to his expenses if he is employed. Children of poor people do not study because they can’t afford the expenses of study. As a result, children of poor people become uneducated. If a man is uneducated then he can’t find a job easily. Poverty occurs when there is lack of educated people, if a man is educated then he can find a job easily. If a man is poor and his children are also poor mean they are not employed then in this way poverty remains the same. Moreover we can reduce poverty by showing concern and empathizing with the poor.

Current research shows, on average, family needs an income of twice the federal poverty level to survive. Poverty is increasing day by day. We should take solid steps to resolve the poverty problems. If poverty remains in a country then a country can’t progress.

References about quotes:

Reference 1)

(Google: Quotes about poverty, Mahatma Gandhi)

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/poverty

Reference 2)

(Mother Teresa, A Simple Path: Mother Teresa)

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/poverty

Reference 3)

( Tupac Shakur)

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/poverty

Reference 4)

(Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, The: 7 Volumes)

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/poverty

Reference 5)

(Muhammad Yunus, Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty)

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/poverty

Reference 6)

(14:31)

http://www.soundvision.com/info/poor/quranhadith.asp

Reference 7)

Muhammad Yunus,

Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism)

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/poverty