Daily Times

World Bank defines poverty in these words: “Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time. Poverty has many faces, changing from place to place and across time, and has been described in many ways. Most often, poverty is a situation people want to escape. So poverty is a call to action — for the poor and the wealthy alike — a call to change the world so that many more may have enough to eat, adequate shelter, access to education and health, protection from violence, and a voice in what happens in their communities.”

I know what poverty is because I had been saddled with it for a long period of time. I used to sit on the shoulders of my father, as I was the youngest son, to go in the field for work. My father had worked as a farmer, labourer and shopkeeper to feed 10 members of his family. Those days were quite dark in my life because sometimes we did not have anything to eat. Many nights I slept without having food in my belly. I remember those days when my father used to bring green and unripe paddy products, and my mother using grindstone for flour. Months and years were spent in hunger and starvation.

Due to lack of money, one of my sisters fell sick and died at a very early age. Not only this but when anyone at home fell sick, we did not go to a doctor because of being unable to pay for treatment. My elder brother used to go to school, and some women of my village used to tease my parents saying that new clothes that my brother wore were brought from my maternal uncle’s home. In spite of a very tough situation, my father with his limited resources made sure that we received education till matriculation.

I even remember that time when due to lack of clothes I used to get dressed only in a kameez (shirt). It was very rare that my mother cooked chicken or meat, but when it was cooked every member of the house would be given half of one boti (small piece of meat). Mostly, we had our meals with onion, lassi, tea, and sometimes a dry meal with water.

We had a mud house, and my mother was an expert in making mud houses. Being situated in a coastal area, our village was prone to natural disasters. In the last three decades, cyclones, heavy torrential rains and flooding played havoc with the people of southern Sindh including my family. In 1992, due to heavy rains our mud house was collapsed; there was a cyclone in 1999 that caused our home to become crooked; and again in 2003 and 2007, unprecedented rains completely destroyed our mud house. After each disaster, my mother helped remake our house, and those of others. My family and I have spent many months without a roof on our heads.

For recreational activities, we used to make bats and wickets from wood, levelling them with an axe, and more interestingly, the balls were made with pieces of cloth. The school where I received my primary education did not have recreational facilities, and even teachers showed up as and when they liked.

My life experience reflects lives of millions of Pakistanis living in poverty and hunger. According to a 2015 World Bank Development Indicators (WDI) report, over 50 percent of Pakistan’s population is living below the poverty line. The report discloses that 12.7 percent of Pakistan’s population lives below $1.25 per day, which is categorised as extreme poverty. Another study conducted by Sustainable Development Policy Institute on “poverty in Pakistan” states that every third Pakistani is living below the poverty line. The province-wise report shows that Balochistan that is considered the land of reserves and minerals is confronting a serious issue of poverty, with 52 percent of the total population living under poverty line; in Sindh 33 percent, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 32 percent and Punjab 19 percent.

Moreover, due to bad governance and institutional corruption, poverty in Pakistan is rampant. Government does not pay much attention to provision of fundamental rights — such as basic education, health facilities and food — of the public. The report further reveals that 31.6 percent of children under the age of five are suffering from malnutrition and are underweight. Mortality rate under five is 86 per 1000 births, and maternal mortality ratio is 170 per 100,000 births. In Tharparkar, hundreds of children have died due to starvation or malnutrition. The youth literacy rate is recorded at 71 percent for ages 15-24, and primary completion rate is 73 percent of relevant age group. About 48 percent of population, according to the WDI report, has access to improved sanitation facilities.

To overcome rising poverty and inequality in Pakistan, government needs to be very serious to take action: against corruption, terrorism (internal and external), to improve education system, bring good governance, generate employment for youth, and to open new corridors for economic growth in the country. Instead of misusing, overusing, or misspending of various resources we must utilise those in a way that masses could get maximum benefit out of them.

The writer is a development professional working with a local NGO, and can be reached at

murtazatalpur@hotmail.com