Our Social Problems

Assignment No. 02 prepared by: Shaheer Khan. Section C, Class Number 106, 6th Semester. Assignment Submitted to: Sir Iqbal Arif Utman.

OUR SOCIAL PROBLEMS - MARCH 24, 2014

. It was on chilly cold winters that made the social gatherings reach its zenith. Swift breezes would slap against our white frozen white cheeks while our unstoppable gossips would provide the necessary warmth dispensable for the moment and the hard struggle of wind in distance turning to failure could be well-noticed, when its whispers faded amidst our chatters. Such beautiful those days were. I remember my mother saying that in her days they would spend long nights in their relatives homes and would listen to nice fables of Nanni Amma without getting bored until she would get tired and give up. Such stories have become rare in todays Pakistan. Social problems in Pakistan have taken a dangerous toll and is likely to outstrip our potential for combating them. If appropriate steps are not taken in this high time, an expected catastrophe of degradation of social values must be expected. As surprising it may sound but, nevertheless its true that social problems of Pakistan are innumerable. These include chronic illiteracy, rampant corruption, increasing population, domestic violence , women victimization, child labor, problems of the youth, generation gap, fast urbanization, feudalistic mindset, conservative thinking, age-long caste system, sinking moral values due to foreign culture and media invasion and so on. While all of this are quite dominant in our society, most common of them is corruption. This evil has eaten the pillars of governmental and political authorities very badly and has rendered them ineffective in the meantime. Government and its administrative machinery has failed to deliver and even though who stand up against corruption and aim to serve by honest means are forced to fall prey to this evil. As a result, people have become dissatisfied from the state and day to day protests, demonstrations and even suicide attempts have become common. Bryant McGill once said1,

Lust for possession and greed has ravaged the soul of humanity like a great cancer, metastasizing throughout society in the form of a nouveau post-human, consumer hedonism.
The todays society has fallen into deep pits of darkness. Our moral values are lost. Spiritually we have turned into dead souls. Everyone is turning poor. Youth is involved into unmoral and unhealthy activities devouring their true charismatic abilities which are crucial for Pakistans progress at this time. Population is increasing so rapidly that almost everyone is oblivious to take notice of it. Majority of the population is living in rural areas without basic necessities of life. It is a country where financial gap between rich and poor is widening day by day. From the last 10 years, extremism is increasing. Whatever happens in the world it is almost understood even before investigations that it will have a link with Pakistan.

Bryan McGill from Voice of Reason.

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OUR SOCIAL PROBLEMS - MARCH 24, 2014

Bleed, bleed, Oh you bleed! The red rivers flow and darkness engulfs all. Alas a graveyard of scattered corpses you've become. From which a foul smell rises and sickens the very air.

Let me share the terrible statistics with you. According to a survey, 60% of Pakistans population is living in poverty.2 Approximately half of Pakistani women are married before 18 years of age and nine per cent of girls begin childbearing between 15-19 years.3 64.6 per cent of women in Pakistan are illiterate and 74 per cent are deprived of being a part of the formal economy, while female life expectancy is 66.1 per cent. According to official news, Pakistani has an estimated 2% growth rate which for a country of official population of 160 Million turns out to be roughly around 3.2 Million every year. This alarming growth rate is causing immense pressure on head of the families who are to support them. Given that about 40% of the population is already living under poverty line and 5.6% (official figures) of the population is unemployed, the ever growing population of Pakistan is just adding to the problems of the already under pressure nation. From Oct. 15 to 22, WHO reported about 258,000 consultations for pneumonia, diarrhea, and suspected malaria? 4 And so on What are the causes of such alarming levels of social degradation? Some of them include Outdated education system ,Uneducated elders versus modernized youth, Absence of true religious knowledge,Lawlessness,No rule of law5,Avoidance of true Islamic teachings, Enchanting western culture, Dying of simplicity, Victimization of women. Such problems has had an impact on us of course. During the last decade it led to, Impact Tarnished national image Political and religious violence Weak state institutions Frustration among the masses Absence of true values Sense of insecurity Uncertainty about future Suicidal tendencies Educational derailment and spread of illiteracy.

2 3 4

Retrieved from website votebits.com Article 10 Major Problems Facing Pakistan Today.

Shirkat Gah, a non-governmental organization from article that appeared in Express Tribune on Feb 2014. WHO report produced in March 2013. 5 Presentation on Social problems of Pakistan and their solutions by Nadeem Wagan.
OUR SOCIAL PROBLEMS - MARCH 24, 2014 2

Wide gap between rural and urban life Alienation between the classes Diminishing positive impression of state institutions army, bureaucracy and judiciary.

Who is to blame for these reasons? Victor Hugo in his landmark book Les Miserable says;

"Teach those who are ignorant as many things as possible; society is culpable This soul is full of shadow; sin is therein committed. The guilty one is not the person who has committed the sin, but the person who has created the shadow."
This night is created by us. We people are responsible for this. Only if we had not been wrong and ill in our intentions that social menace would not have overshadowed us. Still we have time. Time that is left for us like little grains of sand on a palm ready to slip forth and fall to the ground. No one accepts his power of sin. Every individual, be him old or young must realize the sins he commits and has committed in the light of state. Casting back the heaps of disappointment, frustration and hopelessness, every person must step forward and carry his duties in the honest and Islamic way, whichever the field he is in.Self-realisation can root out the filth that is present in our society. Lets be just and fair in everything we do. Everything. In everything, we must do with the goal to serve Pakistan. Even through this assignment that purpose can be served. As a student, completion of assignment on time and its effortless presentation was required of me. And Ive done it! Alhamdulillah. O my country! Cry not even if sky falls on you. Shed a tear not for the birds sing a song of coming season of happiness. A sweet melody it is. O rise! My youth! From spell of slumber, for you have bones of metal mightier than earth. You have a heart of platinum and a soul of tiger. O my men! Smell! O smell the scent of your land. Look over golden-sand at your feet and flowers at your side.

Oh my Paradise! I yearn that your music stays. Hitherto I was dead. Now on, I live.

OUR SOCIAL PROBLEMS - MARCH 24, 2014