Poverty and dehumanisation

Recent years have seen a rise in incidents where poverty has driven people to kill themselves and their entire family out of desperation. Recently in Lahore, a poor 70-year-old old man stabbed to death his two differently-abled daughters and then stabbed himself with the same knife. The daughters were 34 and 32 years of age. The father was rushed to a hospital in a serious condition where he died. The poor man was worried that since he was growing old who would look after his handicapped daughters after his death.

Around three weeks ago in the same city, a man killed had his wife, a stepson and a stepdaughter over domestic issues. Often the couple had quarrels over petty issues. One morning, he slaughtered all three members of his family while they were asleep. A few months ago in another place in Punjab, a jobless man pushed his four children and wife into a pond. On the same day in Sanghar, a poor woman and her daughter ate a sweet laced with poison meant to kill stray dogs. The daughter died. The common thread running through all these tragic incidents is poverty. The increasing number of paupers in the country makes a strong case for a broadening of the social safety net, and there is also the need for providing jobs to the differently-abled.

Violence against women is rampant in the country, especially in the Punjab capital. A few days ago in Lahore, a man shot dead a girl for refusing his marriage proposal. The girl had snubbed her suitor some time ago and the man bore a grudge against her on this account. One day the rejected suitor carrying a firearm forced his way into the girl’s home and opened fire on the girl and her sister. The girl died. Other crimes like robberies and cheating in the guise of police and other government officials have also shown an upward trend. The authorities concerned need to wake up.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 15^th, 2021.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.