A ‘Man’ – considered the head of the family, who earns their bread and butter and keeps them safe. But what if he can no longer provide safety to his family? What happens when even after working over time, he can no longer provide a comfortable lifestyle to his family? And what if, above all, his personal desires overcome the basic moral codes?
“Moral codes adjust themselves to environmental conditions.” Will Durant.
And this cannot be more appropriate than in the case of the world we live in today. A man is a social animal; one who is civilized, yet, his hunting instincts remain – dormant, but not for long; for when faced with grave situations, it is activated with more fury than ever before. The world has become a global village, where power-hungry people are running after wealth and status 24/7, forgetting their morals and ethics.
For the poor people, life is a constant race, where they are fighting a war for their survival. More people are now moving to cities where there are more job opportunities. In 2008, for the first time in history, the world’s urban population outnumbered its rural population. The world’s population is expected to reach 1.2 billion by 2050, where the main growth will be in urban areas. According to FAOSTAT figures, 90% of the global population growth in the next three decades will happen in the cities of the developing countries. Now there will be more people who will buy the food instead of produce it.
This means that we are faced with even more challenges than ever before. Under such grave circumstances, where food security is a major issue, and even the basic necessities of life are rare luxuries; a woman is forced to step out of the house to earn a livelihood, leaving behind her children who are her foremost responsibility. But grave circumstances require grave measures, and this woman has no choice but to go out in the open and face the wrath of the merciless society.
This gives rise to sexual abuse; as man, being a social animal, his sexual desires are aroused by open interaction with women. Media and culture also play a major role in introducing sex as a part of belief, and in most countries of the world, adultery has been legalized. The line between moral and immoral has started to disappear, and purity has become an orthodox phenomenon, to the extent of being taken as shame.
The children, left at home, especially in a society like ours, where the joint family system is disappearing, find alternate solutions to pass their time. Television plays a major role in negatively influencing a child, and in the absence of an adult, this helps shape up their personality. So does going out into an environment filled with violence, gambling, substance and sexual abuse. An immature child is attracted towards these illegal activities, and they happily engage in them to fit in peer culture.
Child labor is another common factor in a developing country like Pakistan, where it rates to a whopping 8.3% of the 40 million children between the age of 5 and 14. The per capita income of Pakistan is approximately $1900. The average, middle class person in Pakistan makes about $5 a day. The average working person has to feed nine or ten people with their $5. On top of that, there is the high inflation rate to deal with. It becomes so hard to survive that many families resort to giving their children up to child labor in order to get more income.
There are many bad effects of child labor on our society, which forces some children to steal things from others in order to satisfy their daily living. Many small girls are even made to indulge in prostitution. A child growing up with these injustices is bound to follow the same direction.
When we talk about the privileged class, the crime rates are even higher. Too many people are lost in the race of becoming rich overnight. We have become greedy, jealous and envious of one another’s material success. In this mad race for status and power, we have forgotten God and the finer aspects of a human being – being human. Yes, the rich have become arrogant, whereas the poor are viewed as animals. In today’s world, we have corrupt, rich men in positions of power, in businesses and politics, trying hard to mould societies where there is less of law and a lot of injustice. Hard-earned taxpayers’ money is being used for waging wars and for oppression. The media is being used for brainwashing us and for making us insentient to violence, murder, illegal sex, beastiality and anything that is lewd and corrupt. Societies that are immoral and corrupt don’t possess a conscience and don’t differentiate between right and wrong.
“The laws of morals are decided by the one in power.” When the powerful themselves fall prey to immorality, how can we expect the rest of the world to not follow them? Religions were made to protect the rights of all mankind, but we have ceased to fear God. Laws are made so injustices of the society are removed; but when the rulers are corrupt, how will their followers be just?
The laws must be made stronger. Immorality and violence in society has to be curbed. People have to realize that there are punishments in return for crime. However, it is imperative that the law curbs all the sources that promote hate, violence and immorality. Only then can we expect a fairer, moral world with a balanced family system, where the man is a hunter and the woman a gatherer whose first priority is her family.
The children, left at home, especially in a society like ours, where the joint family system is disappearing, find alternate solutions to pass their time. Television plays a major role in negatively influencing a child, and in the absence of an adult, this helps shape up their personality. So does going out into an environment filled with violence, gambling, substance and sexual abuse. An immature child is attracted towards these illegal activities, and they happily engage in them to fit in peer culture.
Child labor is another common factor in a developing country like Pakistan, where it rates to a whopping 8.3% of the 40 million children between the age of 5 and 14. The per capita income of Pakistan is approximately $1900. The average, middle class person in Pakistan makes about $5 a day. The average working person has to feed nine or ten people with their $5. On top of that, there is the high inflation rate to deal with. It becomes so hard to survive that many families resort to giving their children up to child labor in order to get more income.
