Dated: 23rd April 2019

Social
Issues
Of Pakistan
Social
Issues Of
Pakistan
Submitted To: Sir Jawad Hussain
Prepared By:
Muhammad Ahmed BM-009
Muhammad Obaidullah Hassan BM-010
Syed Muhammad Ateeb Hussain BM-013
Ghalib Ali BM-029

2
 Abstract:
There is no country in this world with zero percent problems, Pakistan is also facing
many problems; May it be economic, environmental or social. Here we are focusing
on social issues of Pakistan. Social issues of Pakistan are illiteracy, unemployment,
poverty, street crime and terrorism, internal and international migration, population
growth, poor health facilities, child labour, gender discrimination, corruption,
injustice, drug abuse, and the list goes on.
Illiteracy can be considered as a root cause. This problem can be due to numerous
reasons, one of it maybe feudal system in this country. The feudal lords and elite
class of the country do not want the public to get educated, another reason maybe
poverty which holds back parents from sending their children to schools.
This issue eventually results in another issue that is unemployment, this problem
may also arise due to less number of industries and economic backwardness.
Unemployment gives rise to child labour, those who do not get anything to do ends
with criminal activities and in the hands of terror lords. The wave of terrorism started
with the Soviet-Afghan war, when the Kalashnikov Culture was introduced, which
gave rise to sectarian violence, uncertainty and economic instability in the country.
The afghan migrants had elements that introduced drug culture in the society and
drug abuse became another problem.
Population of Pakistan is growing at very high rate. As the resources are finite,
realizing the facts, the government of Pakistan rottenly displays advertisements and
awareness campaigns through media.
Corruption has remained a major issue, which is the root cause of many other issues,
poor health facilities may also be due to corruption.
Gender discrimination is one of the major problems faced by Pakistan. Gender
discrimination has resulted in multiple injustices being carried out such as a large
gender pay gap, occupational segregation.
Thus all social issues are all linked in some way and have roots in one another.

3
Poverty:
Poverty has long been a social issue of Pakistan since its creation. While Pakistan is
one of the richest countries in Asia, poverty in Pakistan is a fact of life for most of
its people. The main cause of Pakistan’s poverty rate is the fact that many Pakistanis
lack basic human rights. Many Pakistanis, often women and children, are begging
in the streets throughout their country. There are several reasons for this issue;
Lack of adequate governance and leadership: These rapid changes in governments
led to rapid policy changes and reversals and the reduction of transparency and
accountability in government. The manner in which power is exercised in the
management of a country's social and economic status resources for development
emerged as Pakistan's foremost developmental problem. Corruption and political
instabilities such as the insurgency in Baluchistan and decade long armed conflict
with the Taliban in Waziristan region 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.
Feudalism: Pakistan has a large feudal landholding system where landholding
families hold thousands of acres and do little work on the agriculture themselves.
Since, feudalism is rampant in such areas, people cannot acquire and hold land,
which is one of the main sources of livelihood in rural agricultural areas of Pakistan.
They enlist the services of their serfs to perform the labour 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 labour.
Spatial distribution of poverty: The Global financial crisis and other factors like the
occupation of Afghanistan have impacted Pakistani growth. 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 and thirty 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 KPK Province of Pakistan was one of the most backward regions of the South
Asia. [1]

4
Social and economic vulnerability: While 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 are the everyday harassment by corrupt
government officials, as well as their underperformance, exclusion and denial of
basic rights to many in Pakistan. Also, 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. Also, 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. [2]
This social issue of poverty can be overcome by:
Equal distribution of wealth; which can be done by imposing taxes on elite and
feudal class and reducing taxes on employed class.
Providing employment to the unemployed.
Providing education and skills to poor, which indirectly will result in their
employment.
In 2001, the government was assisted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in preparing the
Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper that suggests guidelines to reduce poverty in the
country. According to a report sub mitted by Ministry of Planning and Development in the National
Assembly of Pakistan, about 29.5% Pakistani lived below the poverty line which translates into
55 million people. As of 2016, Pakistan's Human Development Index (HDI) is 0.550, lower than
that of nearby Bangladesh's 0.579, which was formerly a part of the country itself. Pakistan's HDI
is lowest in South Asia. [3]

5
Illiteracy:
Illiteracy can be considered as a root cause. This problem can be due to numerous
reasons, one of it maybe feudal system in this country. The feudal lords and elite
class of the country do not want the public to get educated, another reason maybe
poverty which holds back parents from sending their children to schools.
The literacy rate in Pakistan is 60%. It means that 40% people are illiterate. In rural
areas, people are un-educated because they are in pursuance of their livelihood
instead of getting education in schools. The most common cause of illiteracy is our
agriculture based environment in which education is not considered a priority. There
are a number of reasons which causes low literacy rate in Pakistan. According to
UNICEF, 17.6% children work and support their families. Now in these sorts of
conditions, role and support of government becomes unavoidable. [4]
Pakistani politics is controlled by feudal lords. Feudal system is a big obstacle in the
identification of dream of better literacy rates. Statistics show that there are great
inequality in the country on the basis of gender, class and regions. Women’s
education is not considered important as that of men’s. These feudal lords and
waderas enjoy political power as well as they deprive people from getting education.

Impacts of illiteracy are as follows:

Low development of resources: Illiteracy minimizes social relations in society
which leads to less development of resources.
Barrier to Social Change: Illiteracy is itself a barrier in the social progress among
people for better standard. Illiteracy itself is hurdle in understanding techniques for
advancement and progress.
Low Prestige: An illiterate person is given less prestige while sitting with other
people. He is given only a labour work and not allowed to sit on table .and chair in
offices. He is considered to be at low class in society by the educated people because
he is poor and illiterate.
Deprivation from Recreations: Illiteracy creates deprivation among people to enjoy
recreations of the society. Illiterate person is unable to read books, magazine,
articles, and other reading materials. He cannot participate in forums and platforms
of educated people.

6
Abnormal attitude and dealing: Illiterate people are unable to deal with the social
situations in a better way. In such kind of situation, their attitude is abnormal and
sometimes deviant too.
Backwardness: Illiteracy cerates backwardness among the people. Illiterates are
unable to understand and its solution.
Poverty: There is a relationship between level of educational attainment and income.
Generally speaking, it is true that the more you educate the more you so earn
illiteracy creates poverty.
Hamper Social Change: Illiteracy hampers social change because illiterates do not
like social change. They want to live with their existing environment. Any change
in it is resisted by them.
Crime and violence: Illiterates commit more crimes than the educated people.
Educated people commit organized crime with latest techniques which illiterate do
not violent attitude is more in illiterate than the literate persons.
Low quality of life: Due to above mention point, illiterates enjoy poor quality of life,
and their status in the society is also poor.

Solution of illiteracy given below:

Awareness about Problem: To bring these illiterate people into the lines of progress,
advancement and change it is necessary to aware them about problems and
consequences of illiteracy as their problem. They should be provided information
through mass media of communication and general social contact with the educated
people about impacts of illiteracy.
Attitude Change: Illiterate people can be drained into channel of progressive people
with attitude change through showing movies, lectures by officers and programs of
literacy on radio and television. These people can be given incentive of prize, if they
take classes of literacy in the union council offices or schools of the Village.
Literacy Programs: The literacy program includes teaching the basic Subject the
language of the people, English, Urdu or whatever they like. This work can be done
by other educated young men of the rural area on voluntary basis. The building is
available as school, hospital1 office and even the mosque of the area.

7
Free Educational Items: Those people who attend to this literacy program can be
provided stationary and books free of cost. The time of teaching and learning can be
fixed in the evening of the completion of their work. Four to six weeks teaching is
sufficient to make them literate as to read and write the basic things of their need.
This can be continued up to another two to three weeks at their homes on their
interest.
Increase the Importance of Education: The people who are illiterate say that: “what
is the use of this literacy and education for us because we are in the last stage of our
age”. Our argument is based on the fact that their literacy will be helpful to educate
their children. They will feel importance of education and will educate their children
at any cost Those young men who are quite illiterate are wasting their costly time of
life without less output of their works whether it may be in farms. The literate people
can utilize new techniques of agriculture with better results. A revolution can be
brought up in rural economy and social life if literacy percentage rises at the level of
urban area. They will be able to provide better life and good sanitation and health
occasion within their household life.
Change the Mind-set: It is the mind, which changes first and then it brings changes
in the total of social life. Change of mind is the change of general social life. And
the mind cannot be changed until the education is not given to the people. Education
is the injection of change and progress. The use of radio, television”, newspapers
and the mass media of. Communication are the aiding sources for the acceptance of
education for progress.

8
Unemployment:
In Pakistan, the unemployment rate is very high and the major reason is the wastage
of resources on the large scale. It results in the decrease in the income of people. The
Unemployment Problem in Pakistan is increasing rapidly and due to this, many
crimes are taking place. We can see that many people no matter, what the education
are idle because they are not getting any job not even the jobs of clerks, in ordinary
offices or in schools. The condition of unemployment is leading towards the
depressing state and the main reason is the poor education system, which is running
under the government. The parents spend huge amount of money on their children’s
education, but the jobs are very rare and prove indefinable in today’s era. The causes
are infinite, but the major causes of unemployment in Pakistan are given below.
Poor education system: The system of education in Pakistan is very bad. Sadly, none
of the governments took worthwhile steps for the betterment of education. We know
that our educational system is very bad and most of the population is uneducated.
Many of the talented students leave studies due to the unjust educational system.
Many of the educational institution are just selling degrees which have no values
because the students do not gain any skills but wonder for a good job which is not
possible all the time.
Growth in population: The population of Pakistan is very large and according to
statistics it is increasing at a role of 2.2 % per annum, which is startling. There are
many reasons for this increase in population e.g. lack of awareness, desire of sons
etc. It is not possible for government to provide employment to huge populace. [5]
Terrorism: Another major cause of unemployment is terrorism. Pakistan is facing a
terrible situation of terrorism especially in Karachi which is a hub of business
activity. Foreign investors fear to invest in our country, thus, there are less
opportunities of employment. In addition to these problems Afghan refugees are also
a major problem of unemployment in Pakistan.
The solution to unemployment might be achieved by proper planning by the
Pakistani government and the well management of the educational system. Also, by
creating a peaceful environment in the country, we can attract foreign investors to
invest in Pakistan and lastly one more step is to creating family planning centers to
control the flow of over population.

9
Internal & International
Migration:
During the 1980s Soviet–Afghan War, many Afghans left their country. As a result
of political unrest, mass arrests, executions and other human-rights violations and
civil war, about three million Afghan refugees escaped to Pakistan. It was reported
by The New York Times in November 1988 that about 100,000 refugees lived in
Peshawar and more than two million lived in KP (known as the North-West Frontier
Province at the time).
The influx of Afghan refugees into Pakistan since the 1980s has contributed to
increased sectarian violence, drug trafficking, terrorism and organised crime.
According to the Pakistan Citizenship Act 1951, people who migrated to Pakistan
before 18 April 1951 (and their descendants) are Pakistani citizens. Those who
immigrated after this date are required to apply for Pakistani citizenship and identity
documents. It is estimated that over 200,000 Afghans who arrived after 1951 have
obtained Pakistani citizenship and identity documents, such as Computerized
National Identity Cards (CNICs), without formal applications by forgery. Thousands
of Afghans were reportedly in Pakistani jails in May 2011, most of whom were
arrested for offenses ranging from petty crimes to not having a proof of registration
card, Pakistani visa or Afghan passport. After serving prison sentences and paying
fines, they were released on "the condition they will not enter Pakistan illegally
again. In 2012, 278 Afghan nationals were arrested by intelligence agencies for
possessing fake Pakistani CNICs. [6]
Smuggling became a major business, which is now controlled by a large organized-
crime network on both sides of the border. Major items smuggled from Afghanistan
into Pakistan are opium, hashish, heroin, lumber, precious stones, copper,
automobiles and electronics.
Another form of smuggling is human trafficking. According to one report, asylum-
seeking Afghans, Iranians and others wanting to reach Malaysia pay up to $10,000
to Pakistani human smugglers in Karachi.
Along with that Kalashnikov culture was introduced.

10
Street Crime & Terrorism:
Poverty and un-employment ultimately gives rise to street crime and terrorism. For
past many years major cities of Pakistan have remained a victim of street crime and
terrorism.
Terrorism in Pakistan originated with supporting the Soviet–Afghan War, and the
subsequent civil war erupted in Afghanistan that continued for at least a decade. The
conflict brought numerous fighters from all over the world to South Asia in the name
of jihad. The mujahedeen fighters were trained by Pakistan's military, American CIA
and other western intelligence agencies who carried out insurgent activities inside
Afghanistan well after the war officially ended.
The rogue terrorists groups have carried out suicide attack in and across Pakistan.
They used youngsters who were not educated and un-employed, the terror groups
brainwashed them and used them as a threat.
“Pakistan has long sheltered Afghan refugees [but they are now acting] against
Pakistan. Afghan nationals will not be allowed to carry out criminal activities here.
There will be complete restriction on the movement of Afghan refugees in
Baluchistan and KP. We have given a one-month deadline to illegal immigrants to
get their refugee cards. Otherwise, they will be arrested. Pakistan has also stopped
issuing visit visas to Afghan nationals.”— Rehman Malik, September 2011 [7]
After the December 2014 Peshawar school massacre, the deadliest terrorist incident
in Pakistan's history (in which two Afghan militants were involved), Pakistani
authorities cracked down on Afghan refugee settlements to apprehend illegal
immigrants.
Both these issues have deliberately been encountered together by the Government,
Armed Forces of Pakistan and the Public up to a huge extent.
By carrying out military operations on terrorists outfits thus eliminating the root
cause.
Education is being made available in remote areas of Pakistan.
However street crime is still a major issue which needs to be addressed more
efficiently.

11
Child Labour:
Child labour in Pakistan is the employment of children for work in Pakistan, which
causes them mental, physical, moral and social harm. In 1996, the median age for a
child entering the work force was seven, down from eight in 1994.
Child Labour is indeed a social problem. The news of a 15-year-old domestic servant
being allegedly tortured and strangled to death in an affluent Karachi residence
barely created a ripple. Mohammad Imran’s murder follows similar cases including
that of a 10-year-old domestic help who had 20 torture marks on her body, with her
hand burnt on a stove. We live in a cattiest and classist society. The mistreatment of
domestic help and by extension, child domestic workers is all too common in
Pakistani cities. Domestic labour falls under the category of informal work, or
‘invisible’ labour. There are no clear laws to guarantee their rights, and no
regulations to check whether the rights they are entitled to (egg minimum wage) are
ensured. In Pakistan, we are not even sure who comes under the category of a ‘child’
due to the prevalence of contradictory laws. But just because they belong to the
‘invisible’ workforce does not mean we turn a blind eye to their mistreatment.
Article 11 of the Constitution states that “No child below the age of 14 years shall
be engaged in any factory or mine or any other hazardous employment”. Article 25-
A makes it compulsory for governments to provide free education to all children
between the ages of five and 16. Last year, Sindh Government also passed the
Prohibition of Employment of Children Act, which establishes 15 as the minimum
age for employment and 19 for employment in hazardous professions. But because
none of these laws specifically cover domestic work, which is not considered a
‘hazardous’ occupation, cases of injustice (when reported) come under criminal law.
While it’s true that the problem of child labour is connected to desperate poverty,
this is not a reason to not pass laws that will ensure the protection of young workers
and punish those who subject them to violence and abuse.
The Government of Pakistan has ratified ILO core Conventions related to child
labour. Under the ILO’s child labour programme various successful initiatives have
been carried out in the Soccer Ball, Carpet weaving, surgical, glass bangles, deep
sea fishing, leather tanneries, domestic work, coalmines, rag-picking, auto-
workshops, and brick kiln sectors. ILO has also responded to rehabilitate child
labour in the earthquake affected areas. In all these ILO interventions, thousands of

12
child labours, girls and boys, have been rehabilitated through the provision of non-
formal education and related services. Moreover, ILO has helped develop a District
Model approach to build the capacity of and provide tools to the District Government
to address the issue of child labour at the local level.
At the capacity building level, ILO has helped the Ministry of labour to establish
five child labour units at the federal and provincial level to holistically address the
child labour issue. ILO’s technical assistance to the Federal Bureau of Statistics and
Ministry labour resulted in the first ever national level survey on child labour in
1996. Now ILO will provide support to the Federal Bureau of Statistics to carry out
the second national child labour survey in 2010-2011.
Moreover, ILO has helped the Ministry of Education to ensure that national
Education Policy 2009 effectively respond to rehabilitate child labourers through the
provision of formal and non-formal education. [8][9]

13
Poor Health Facilities:
In Pakistan, more than 70 million of the population is living below the poverty line.
These people don’t have any access to basic facilities including food and water. In
addition to that, if they get sick, they don’t have any proper healthcare facilities. In
the history of Pakistan, health has never been a top priority especially of the people
living in rural areas. Middle and upper-income class families are able to get
treatment from best hospitals as they can pay from their pockets. On the other hand,
for the underprivileged community, there are local hospitals but the number of
patients is far more than the doctors available to treat them. Also, the number of beds
are too less in these hospitals. Due to this, a large number of people have to sit on
the floors which are also reported by media many times. [10]
There are a number of NGOs working in the healthcare sector. Majority of them are
providing free medicines that can heal the pain of patients who are suffering from
flu, cough or other mild diseases. But for those, who are suffering from serious
diseases and need proper treatment, there is no care provided to them. The
government hospitals are not enough to cater the needs of thousands of suffering
people. If they need surgical treatment, they have to rely on local hospitals who put
them on a long waiting list. By the time their turn comes, either the patient gets
expired or his/her health gets deteriorated.
In the majority of rural areas, there is not even any local hospital to facilitate the
people. Especially in Sindh, there are many small villages and slums where people
are dying because they don’t have clean water and food. Due to this, they suffer from
a number of deadly diseases. The infant mortality rate in Pakistan is also alarming
which is 66 per 1000 births. Due to lack of proper care, mothers are not able to
maintain their health during pregnancy resulting in the deaths of their babies. In
many cases, children are born with various diseases including heart defects. Apart
from the lack of medical facilities, there is not any health insurance system for the
underprivileged through which they can treatment for free or at least at discounted
rates.

14
A recent World Bank report alerts that Pakistan is facing a health crisis with rising
rates of heart diseases, diabetes, obesity and other non - communicable diseases
(NCDs) which are disproportionately affecting poor families and aggravating the
poverty situation.
Moreover, due to major illnesses people have to pay for most of their care out of
their savings or by selling their possessions and then finding themselves caught in a
poverty trap where they can’t get better and they can’t work.
Despite setting some major targets our policy makers have not been able to
improve health conditions, which are leaving a negative impact on poor families.
It is time the ministry of health took some bold initiatives in this regard.

15
Drug Abuse:
The action drug abuse is a highly concerning
issue not only in different countries of the
world but also in Pakistan. Behind the
tragicomic story of “Kamlesh” from India’s
city of Bhopal, whose video went viral on
Youtube last year after receiving millions of
views, there lies a misery and plight of drug
addicts and the parallel, rather regretful, lack
of awareness and the required sensitivity that we as Pakistanis should attach to the
issue of chronic drug addicts. A few reasons for increasing drug abuse in Pakistan
are:

Lack of family support: From the view of a lower class family a drug addict is seen
as an economic burden for the state, for middle class families a drug addict is seen
as a sign of dishonor for the whole family. In a nutshell, drug addicts are seen as
symbol of uncivility and uselessness in the society. Increasing rate of drug abuse has
also been contributing to the increasing death rate as these people who have been
abandoned by both family and society have nowhere to go. The United Nations
Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in its 2013 “Drug Use in Pakistan” report
released staggering statistics. The report terms drug abuse as a “problem for the
family” which substantiates the claim that families tend to abandon the drug addicts.
It further states, “Three-quarters of opiate users interviewed reported a strong desire
for treatment, but cited either a lack of access or an inability to afford treatment.”

Lack of government interest: In July 2015, Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) informed

the Senate Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics Control that an estimated
of 700 people in Pakistan die every day due to drug-related problems. Following
this, two years later the federal budget of 2017-18 allocated a mere Rs70 million as
‘National Fund for Control of Drug Use’ as laid out in section 54 of the Control of
Narcotic Substances Act (CNSA) 1997. Mathematically speaking. The federal
government only wanted to spend Rs11 on each drug addict in 2018. This shows
how little the federal government might care about the drug addicts of the country.

16
Same goes for provincial governments that are mandated by law to provide
rehabilitation facilities for the drug addicts, however fail to do so by instead building
much required bridges and roads to please the non-addicts. At least they provide a
place for the addicts to gather and make a home under these “bridges”.

Lack of rehabilitation facilities: The National Anti-Narcotics policy of 2010 had

suggested the need for mainstreaming of drug treatment and rehabilitation centres in
federal, provincial, district and tehsil hospitals with special wards to be created for
such patients so the treatment is made more accessible. Even in the few hospitals
where such wards exist today, they usually provide only detoxification, and not the
rehabilitation facilities. There is an acute shortage of special hospitals, unable to deal
with the increasing number of addicts. [11]

As Pakistanis we need to understand that drug abuse is a problem that has a

solution. Instead of simply abandoning the addicts to their fate why should we not
educate more people around us about how detrimental it is for us to consume
drugs and also to change our perspectives about how and why, scientifically, is it
so difficult to quit drug consumption once it is pursued. We need more
understanding and empathetic individuals, families and government to tackle this
issue which, perhaps, sadly, still lingers on the periphery of our conscience.

17
Corruption:
Corruption is a significant obstacle to business in Pakistan. It is rampant in all sectors
and institutions and the best way to cripple the growth or the future of a country is
by increasing corruption in its government institutions.

The Pakistani Penal Code applies to individuals and makes it illegal to offer, pay or
accept a bribe. Individuals or whole business and companies can be held civilly
liable under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the National Accountability
Ordinance. Corruption is deep rooted in the whole government system of our country
and the different institutions.

Starting with the Judicial System, Pakistan’s judiciary is characterized by corruption,

delays, and inefficiency. Delays are often caused by antiquated rules, unfilled
judgeships, poor case management, and weak legal so education which ultimately
leads to injustice for the people. Next, the Police and Public Services that have been
under high risk of corruption since a long time. Three out of four Pakistanis believe
most or all of the police is corrupt, and three out of four Pakistanis who have come
into contact with the police in the past year report paying a bribe (GCB 2015). As
for the Public Services irregular payments and bribes are commonly exchanged
when obtaining public services and licenses (GCR 2015-2016). More than half of
Pakistanis believe local government officials are corrupt (GCB 2015). Same
conditions can be seen in Tax, Land and Customs Administration where you can
make the government officials dance on your palm as long as you have deep pockets.
Bribery is often used to relieve large tax payments on businesses, to acquire illegal
land and of course to just go around those troublesome custom procedures and tariffs
at the customs offices. [12]

The solution for a problem like corruption is not something that can happen
overnight. People need to change themselves, to realize that corruption is not only
a crime but also a sin. The next generation of youth of our country will have a
major hand in deciding whether this illegal practice will fade away or not. Hence,
it is necessary that we educate our generation about the negative effects of
corruption on our country and society.

18
Injustice:
Increasing injustice is a big dilemma of Pakistan’s today’s society, as we can witness
many examples of it in the daily newspapers and media. There are plenty of reasons
of this prevailing inequality in our country.

Unavailability of free judicial system: The judicial system of any country is usually
above the government, but the situation in Pakistan is far different. Recently, there
have been seen some up-gradations in the system since the reinstatement of Supreme
Court Judge Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. However, the crime rate and other
social issues are increasing day-by-day, which are a living example of injustice. [13]

Corruption: Pakistan’s police is apparently for the safety of the citizens and is to
maintain law and order in the country; but unfortunately, it is considered one of the
most corrupt institutes of Pakistan, as recently it has totally failed to cope up with
increasing terrorism and crime rate. There are many cases reported, where police
imprisons innocent people while releases the culprits for bribing money. A corrupt
police allows people to be brave in breaking the law without worrying about the
consequences and leads to injustice against the innocent man at the hands of the
corrupt official.

Discrimination: Discrimination against people of different castes or even religion

plays part in the injustice in Pakistan. People belonging to the same caste put the
interests of each other before those of others. This creates injustice in the system for
the third person. Gender discrimination is also a cause for injustice. Simply being a
man will provide you much better job incentives in a company when compared to
that of a woman. Less job payment is seen as a form of injustice by gender
discrimination in the whole world.

19
Gender Discrimination:
Gender discrimination is only one of the major problems faced by Pakistan.
According to the Global Gender Gap Index, 2015, Pakistan stands at the bottom –
144 out of 145 countries in the world. The index, prepared annually by the World
Economic Forum, examines the gap between men and women covering four
fundamental aspects: economic participation and opportunity, educational
attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. The reason for gender
discrimination in Pakistan stems from the Pakistani social custom of placing sons
above daughters as it is believed that males will grow up to work and sustain the
house, while females will become housewives and stay at home. Men are perceived
as the major providers and protectors of a family while women are perceived as
playing only a supportive role, attending to the hearth. This results in education for
boys are being prioritized, while girls are forced to stay at home. [14]
Gender discrimination has resulted in multiple injustices being carried out such as a
large gender pay gap, occupational segregation, denial of promotions to leadership,
a glass ceiling in different professions, increased casualization of women workers
and feminization of poverty, trafficking, forced marriage, female genital mutilation,
honor killings, violence against women in domestic spheres, work place and public
spaces, and lower levels of equation and work opportunities.
The people of Pakistan need to do away with these flawed customs and the way of
thinking that women are any less than men. We must educate the people that women
can be equally self-dependent as men and not a burden for the father.
The strict implementation of laws for the protection of women is the only way
forward to ensure relief to the women of Pakistan. A number of legislations brought
forth by different regimes have already failed to check the discrimination against
women in different spheres, within four walls of the house or in the outer world for
working ladies. These legislations have not brought any tangible change in the
society in regard to the protection of women and child rights. What we need is
change from the roots. Educating the lower classes is an essential step in doing some
to stop thinking as women as lower class citizens, economic burdens on their family,
to be married off as soon as possible, with no education whatsoever. The patriarchy
needs to be done away with. Then, and only then can this terrible blight of gender
discrimination be destroyed in Pakistan.

20
 Conclusion:
Although our country Pakistan faces many social problems those that have been
mentioned above do have a few things in common. Each problem mentioned above
has certain reasons due to which that problem has taken root in our society. Social
problems are linked to the society, therefore, the reason for these problems and their
growth also lies with the people of our society. Some problems are linked to the
lower and the middle class society and some are caused due to the negligence of the
people of the upper class and it is safe to say that part of the blame lies with our
government too. Whether it is the problem of poverty or of drug abuse these
problems can be can be solved if the people work together with the government. A
common solution for solving social problems is raising awareness about them and
educating the masses about the pros and cons of their action and the effect of an
individual on the society as a whole. Every problem has a solution and problems like
child labor, gender discrimination and such require a change from within the people
and is not something even our negligent government can solve by introducing new
laws. The way to solve these problems is by tackling the reasons that cause them.
Even increasing the literacy rate would make things a lot easier for us as a society.
Educated people are more likely to raise their voices against the flawed norms of a
society. In the end the welfare of the people and the society is in the hands of the
people themselves who can raise their voices against these problems and overthrow
the criminals hiding in plain sight.

21
 References:
ADB Report page 11 [1]
ADB Report page 16 [2]
Human Development Report 2016 – "Human Development for Everyone"" (PDF).
HDRO (Human Development Report Office) United Nations Development
Programme. Retrieved 22 March 2017. [3]
https://nation.com.pk/26-Sep-2018/illiteracy-in-pakistan [4]
https://www.technologytimes.pk/unemployment-pakistan/ [5]
Ahmad, Riaz (3 April 2015). "No country for old Afghans: 'Post-1951 immigrants
to be considered illegal'". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 4 April 2015. [6]
"Taliban moving to Quetta from FATA". Express Tribune. September 11, 2011.
Retrieved September 11, 2011. [7]
https://www.ilo.org/islamabad/areasofwork/child-labour/lang--en/index.htm [8] [9]
https://www.transparenthands.org/list-of-top-8-health-issues-in-pakistan/ [10]
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2018/02/22/pakistans-huge-drug-addiction-
problem/ [11]
https://www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/pakistan/ [12]
http://www.news pakistan.pk/2011/10/20/increasing-injustice-is-a-big-dilemma-of-
pakistan-s-society/ [13]
http://jworldtimes.com/jwt2015/magazine-archives/jwt2011/mar2011/social-
injustice-in-pakistan/ [13]
https://dailytimes.com.pk/59128/gender-discrimination-in-pakistan/ [14]

22
 Bibliography:
Griffin K., Khan A. R. (1972); “Growth and Inequality in Pakistan”, U.K.
Rana A. A. M. (2010); “Social Problems of Pakistan”, Pakistan.
Taga A. H., Taga A. A. (1999); “Sociology and Social Problems”, Pakistan.
“The Pakistan Journal of Social Issues” – University of Gujrat, 2010.

23