SOCIAL

INEQUALITY

Social inequality
Social

inequality refers to a lack

of social equality, where
individuals in a society do not
have equal social status.

Inequality is socially created by matching two

different kinds of processes.
The social roles in society are first matched
to reward packages of unequal value, and
individual members of society are then
allocated to the positions so defined and
rewarded.
Social inequality is different from economic
inequality but the two inequalities are linked.

Economic inequality refers to disparities in the

distribution of economic assets and income. The
economic inequality is caused by the unequal
distribution of wealth.
Social inequality is the expression of lack of
access to housing, health care, education,
employment opportunities, politics, and status.
It is the exclusion of people from full and equal
participation in what we perceive as being valuable,
important, personally worthwhile and socially
desirable.

Social mobility

It is the degree to which, in a given society,

an individual's, family's, or group's social
status can change throughout the course of
their life through a system of social hierarchy
or stratification.
It is also the degree to which that individual's
or group's descendants move up and down
the class system.

The degree to which an individual can move

through their system can be based on
attributes and achievements or factors
beyond their control.
The rise of a child from a poor background to
the presidency or some other position of
great prestige, power, or financial reward is
an example of social mobility.

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Open versus Closed Class

Systems

Sociologists use the term open class system

and closed class system to distinguish
between two ideal types of class system in
terms of social mobility.
An open system implies that the position of
each individual is influenced by the persons
achieved status. In open class system,
competition between members of society is
encouraged.

In the closed system there is little or no

possibility of individual mobility. The slavery
and caste system are examples of closed
stratification. In such societies, social
placement is based on ascribed statuses,
such as race or family background, which
cannot be changed.

Types of Social Mobility

Horizontal and Vertical
mobilitydistinguish
Contemporary sociologists
between horizontal and vertical mobility.
Horizontal mobility refers to the movement
of a person from one social position to
another of the same rank.
Vertical mobility refers to the movement of a
person from one social position to another of
a different rank.

Inter- and Intra-generational

mobility

Intra-generational mobility ("within" a

generation) is defined as changes in social status
over a single life-time.
Inter-generational mobility ("across"
generations) is defined as changes in social
status that occur from the parents' to the
children's generation.

Sociologists usually focus on intergenerational

mobility because it is easier to depict changes
across generations rather than within one.
Intra-generational mobility occurs when a person
strives to change his or her own social standing.
In some societies, this type of change is not
possible.

In social systems where people are divided into

castes, social mobility cannot occur. Whatever
caste a person is born into, is what they will
remain for the entirety of their life.
However, in cultures based on merit, like the
United States or the United Kingdom, for example,
people are free to move up and down the social
ladder.

Intra-generational mobility can move a person

either higher or lower in the social ladder.
If one starts at a low level, they can improve their
status by working hard, getting a better job, or
becoming more culturally sound, to name a few.
Pierre Bordieu describes three types of capital
that place a person in a certain social category.
These are economic capital, social capital, and
cultural capital.

Economic capital is command over economic

resources such as money and assets.
Social capital is resources one achieves based on
group membership, relationships, networks of
influence, and support from other people.
Cultural capital is any advantage a person has that
gives them a higher status in society, such as
education, skills, and any other form of knowledge.
Usually, people with all three types of capital have
a high status in society.

Inter-generational mobility occurs across

generations.

Ability and hard work affect social mobility, but so

does parents wealth, race, gender, and luck.

Fiona Devine wrote a book, Class practices: how parents

help their children get good jobs, specifically on intergenerational mobility and how parents influence can affect
the childs social mobility.
It emphasizes the importance of a good education in order
to be successful.
Parents also help children make important connections with
people in order to expand their social network.
Parents that can create social capital for their children tend
to increase their childs social mobility.

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Annette Lareau makes a compelling argument

regarding child-raising in her book, Unequal
Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life.
She describes two different ways to raise children:
concerted cultivation and natural growth.
Concerted cultivation, normally used by middleclass families, incorporates many structured,
organized activities for the child. They are taught
to reason with parents through communication,
and often the child adopts a sense of entitlement.

Natural growth is almost the exact opposite of

concerted cultivation. Used mainly in poor or
working-class families, this style of childrearing
does not include organized activities, and there is
a clear division between the adult and the child.
Children usually spend large amounts of their day
creating their own activities, and they hardly ever
speak with adults.
In fact, adults use language in order to direct or
order the children, never to negotiate with them.

These two different types of childrearing can affect

inter-generational mobility.
Children who grow up with a concerted cultivation
style of childrearing learn from their parents how
to talk with adults as equals.
This skill helps them create social networks, which
can improve their social standing.

Children with natural growth backgrounds tend to

have a more difficult time improving their social
standing.
They lack the social skills and sense of
entitlement that concerted cultivation children
have that helps them acquire good jobs (and
therefore, move up in their social standing).
Natural growth children do learn to comply with
authority figures, instead of argue with them,
which gives them an advantage over concerted
cultivation children.

Structural and exchange

mobility

Structural mobility is a type of forced vertical

mobility that results from a change in the distribution
of statuses in a society. It occurs when the demands
of a particular occupation reach its max and more
people are needed to help fill the positions.
Exchange mobility is that which is not structural.
The key word "exchange" means trade-off. This
means instead of positions reaching the max and
more people are needed, positions are dropped and
someone else must step up to fill the position.
When ascriptive status is in play, there is not much
exchange mobility occurring.

Upward and downward

mobility

Upward social mobility is a change in a person's

social status resulting in that person receiving a
higher position in their status system.
Likewise, downward mobility results in a lower
position.
A prime example of an opportunity for upward
mobility nowadays is athletics. There are an
increased number of minorities in America seeking
careers as professional athletes which can either
lead to improved social status.

Transformative assets would also allow one to

achieve a higher status in society, as they increase
wealth and provide for more opportunity.
A transformative asset could be a trust fund set up
by family that allows you to own a nice home in a
nice neighborhood, instead of an apartment in a
down trodden community. This type of move would
allow the person to develop a new circle of friends of
the same economic status.

Poverty

There are two ways to define poverty:

The first is in terms of relative deprivation, the
inability to maintain the living standards customary
in the society.
This approach assumes that people are poor only in
relation to others who are not poor.
Accordingly, the poor are simply defined as the
lowest income-earners in society.
The implication is that poverty cannot be eliminated
as long as some people are significantly deprived in
comparison with most others.

The second is in terms of Absolute

deprivation, the inability to afford minimal
standards of food, clothing, shelter, and
health care.
Under this definition, the proportion of the
population that is poor depends on how many
people lack these necessities.
The implication is that poverty can be totally
eliminated as soon as everyone is able to
afford basic essentials.

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Social inequality and social

stratification with reference
Political
to Pakistan
abuse
of Human Rights in

Pakistan
Pakistans human rights record is generally
regarded as poor by domestic and
international observers, although there have
been some improvements since 2000.
Pakistan's security forces use excessive and
sometimes lethal force and are complicit in
extrajudicial killings of civilians and suspected
militants.

The police and military have been accused of

engaging in physical abuse, rape, and arbitrary
arrest and detention, particularly in areas of acute
conflict.
Although the government has enacted measures to
counter these problems, abuses continue.
Furthermore, courts suffer from lack of funds,
outside intervention, and deep case backlogs that
lead to long trial delays and lengthy pretrial
detentions.

Many observers inside and outside Pakistan

contend that Pakistans legal code is largely
concerned with crime, national security, and
domestic tranquility and less with the protection of
individual rights.
Provincial and local governments have arrested
journalists and closed newspapers that report on
matters perceived as socially offensive or critical of
the government.
Journalists also have been victims of violence and
intimidation by various groups and individuals.

Societal factors also are responsible for

human rights abuses.
Violence by drug lords and sectarian violence
have claimed numerous innocent lives.
Discrimination and violence against women
are widespread.
Human trafficking is a major problem.
Debt slavery and bonded labor still persist.

The government often ignores abuses

against children and religious minorities.
The Blasphemy Law, for example, allows life
imprisonment or the death penalty for
contravening Islamic principles, but
legislation was passed in October 2004 to
eliminate misuse of the law.

The social acceptance of many these

problems hinders their eradication. One
prominent example is honor killing (karo
kari).
Many view this practice as indicative of a
feudal mentality, but others defend the
practice as a means of punishing violators of
cultural norms and view attempts to stop it to
as an assault on cultural heritage.

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Caste system among South

Asian Muslims

Caste system among South Asian Muslims refers to

units of social stratification that have developed
among Muslims in South Asia despite Islam's
egalitarian tenets.
Sources indicate that the castes among Muslims
developed as the result of close contact with Hindu
culture and Hindu converts to Islam.
When Hindus converted to Islam, they often did not
adhere completely to Islamic principles, retaining
many Hindu practices with them. One of these
Hindu characteristics was the caste.

In some parts of South Asia, the Muslims are

divided as Ashrafs and Ajlafs.
Ashrafs claim a superior status derived from
their foreign ancestry.
The non-Ashrafs (Ajlafs) are assumed to be
converts from Hinduism, and are therefore
drawn from the indigenous population. They,
in turn, are divided into a number of
occupational castes.

Sections of the ulema (scholars of Islamic

jurisprudence) provide religious legitimacy to
caste with the help of the concept of kafa'a.
A classical example of scholarly declaration
of the Muslim caste system is the Fatawa-i
Jahandari, written by the 14th century
Turkish scholar, Ziauddin Barani, a member
of the court of Muhammad bin Tughlaq, of the
Tughlaq dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate.

Barani was known for his intensely casteist views,

and regarded the Ashraf Muslims as racially
superior to the Ajlaf Muslims. He divided the
Muslims into grades and sub-grades.
In his scheme, all high positions and privileges were
to be a monopoly of the high born Turks, not the
Indian Muslims.
Even in his interpretation of the Koranic verse
"Indeed, the pious amongst you are most honored
by Allah", he considered piety to be associated with
noble birth.

Barrani was specific in his recommendation that the

"sons of Mohamed" [i.e. Ashrafs] "be given a higher
social status than the low-born [i.e. Ajlaf].
His most significant contribution in the fatwa was his
analysis of the castes with respect to Islam. His
assertion was that castes would be mandated
through state laws or "Zawabi" and would carry
precedence over Sharia law whenever they were in
conflict.
In the Fatwa-i-Jahandari (advice XXI), he wrote
about the "qualities of the high-born" as being
"virtuous" and the "low-born" being the "custodian of
vices".

Barani had a clear disliking for the Ajlaf and

strongly recommended that they be denied
education, lest they usurp the Ashraf
masters. He sought appropriate religious
sanction to that effect.
Barrani also developed an elaborate system
of promotion and demotion of Imperial
officers ("Wazirs") that was primarily on the
basis of their caste.

In addition to the Ashraf/Ajlaf divide, there is

also the Arzal caste among Muslims, who
were the equivalent of untouchables.
The term "Arzal" stands for "degraded". The
Arzal group was recorded in the 1901 census
in India and are also called Zalil Muslims
with whom no other Muhammadan would
associate. They are relegated to "menial"
professions such as scavenging and carrying
night soil.

Some of the backward or lower-caste Muslim

communities include Julaha, Kunjra, Qasai,
Nai, Dhobi, Chamar and Halalkhor.
The upper caste Muslim communities include
Syed, Sheikh, Pathan, Mughal, Choudhry,
Sardar, Wadero, Khan and Mallik. Muslim
Rajput is another caste distinction among
Indian Muslims.

Interaction and Mobility

Interactions between the oonchi zat (upper caste)

and neechi zat (lower caste) are regulated by
established patron-client relationships of the jajmani
system, the upper castes being referred to as the
'Jajmans', and the lower caste as 'Kamin'
The kamins, who are attached to the dominant
Ashraf lineage in a hereditary relationship, provide
specialized services to its members for customary
payments in cash or kind.
The kamins are provided house sites by their
jajmans and can also get land on lease from the
jajmans for cultivation.

Upon contact with a low-caste Muslim, a Muslim of a

higher zat can "purify" by taking a short bath, since
there are no elaborate rituals for purification.
Unlike the Hindu caste system the caste system
found amongst Muslims was never rigid and could
move from a caste to another.
An old saying also goes "Last year I was a Julaha
(weaver); this year a Shaikh; and next year if the
harvest be good, I shall be a Sayyid."

There is also data that indicates that the castes

among Muslims have never been as rigid as that
among Hindus. The rate of endogamous marriage,
for example, is less than two thirds.
In the setting of a mosque, any caste indications
were overlooked by Islamic ideals of brotherhood
and equality.
Lower castes are often persecuted by the upper
castes. A particularly infamous example of such
incidents is that of Mukhtaran Mai in Pakistan, a low
caste woman who was gang raped by upper caste
men.

Criticism

Many Muslim scholars have termed the

caste-like features in South Asian Muslim
society as a "flagrant violation of the Qur'anic
worldview.".
However, a few Muslim scholars tried to
reconcile and resolve the "disjunction
between Qur'anic egalitarianism and Indian
Muslim social practice" through theorizing it
in different ways and interpreting the Quran
and Sharia to justify casteism.

Babasaheb Ambedkar was extremely critical of the

Muslim Caste System and their practices, quoting
that "Within these groups there are castes with
social precedence of exactly the same nature as
one finds among the Hindus".
Pakistani-American sociologist Ayesha Jalal writes,
in her book, "Democracy and Authoritarianism in
South Asia",that "Despite its egalitarian principles,
Islam in South Asia historically has been unable to
avoid the impact of class and caste inequalities."

List of Pakistani family

names

Pakistani surnames are basically divided in three

categories: Arab naming convention, tribal names
and ancestral names.
Baloach tribal names:
Baloch; Bhutani; Bizenjo; Bugti; Buzdar; Dasti;
Domki; Gabol; Gichki; Gorshani; Hajani; Hasni;
Hooth; Jamot; Jamali; Jatoi; Khetran ; Khosa;
Leghari; Lashari; Lashari; Lasi; Laskani; Magsi;
Marri; Mazari; Mengal; Mundrani; Nothazai; Rind;
Samma; Sanjrani; Sial; Talpur.

Kashmiri tribal names

Bhat; Butt; Dar; Lone; Kichlu; Khawaja; Malik; Mir, Sheikh;
Talwar
Pashtun tribal names
Afridi; Burki; Chamkanni; Daulat Khel; Davi; Durrani; Edo-Khel;
Gandapur; Ghilzai; Jadoon; Jahangiri; Kakakhel; Khakwani;
Kakar; Kakazai; Kayani; Khan; Kharoti; Khattak; Khudiadadzai;
Khulozai; Kuchelai; Kuchis; Kundi; Lodhi; Maghdud Khel;
Mahmud Khel; Mahsud Khel; Mamund; Marwat; Mashwanis;
Miankhel; Mohamedzai; Mohmand; Nasiri/Nasar; Niazi; Noorzai;
Popalzai; Sadozai; Salarzai; Sarbans; Shilmani; Shirani; Suri;
Swati; Tanoli; Tareen; Tarkani; Umar Khel; Umarzai; Uthman khel
; Wur; Yousafzai; Yusaf Khel; Zaimukhes

Punjabi tribal names

Arain; Awan; RANJHA; Bajwa; Bhabra; Bhalli; Bhatti
; Bhutta; Galon; Chhachhar; Munda; Spal; Chotia;
Kardar; Teerandaz; Bhango; Bhamba; Chadhar;
Chatha; Chaudhry; Chauhan; Cheema; Dogar;
Gakhar; Ghuman; Gill; Gujjar; Janjua; Jatyal; Jat;
Johiya; Khokhar; Jatala; Mundh; Mudh; Gohir;
Ramay; Langah; Mahtam; Malik; Meghwar; Minhas;
Mir; Rajput; Nagi; Noon; Paracha; Rajar; Rana;
Rathore; Sahni; Siyal; Sipra Sheikh (Punjabi);
Sumbal; Talwar; Tarkhan; Thind; Tiwana; Virk;
Waseer; Wattu

Sindhi tribal names

Abbasi; Abro; Amersy; Bachani; Bahawalanzai; Bajaeen; Bhel;
Bhil; Bhurgari; Bhutta; Bhutto; Bijarani; Buledi; Burfat; Buriro;
Chachar; Chandio; Channa; Chutta; Damanis; Dannarzai; Dano;
Dareshak; Daudpota; Dibla; Gabol; Ghanghro; Hakro; Hingoro;
Jat; Jatoi; Johiya; Jokhio; Joyo; Junejo; Kachelo; Kalhora;
Kambarzahi; Khaskheli; Khokhar; Kolhi; Lakhani; Langah; Larik;
Lanjwani; Leghari; Lohana; Mallaah; Mallah; Mangrio; Mangi;
Manjhi Meghwar; Mehairi ; Memon; Meo; Mir; Mirali; Mirani;
Mudiraju; Mughal; Nizamani; Pali; Palijo; Panhwar; Pathan;
Peechoho; Pirzada; Qaimkhani; Rajput; Rajar; Rathore; Samejo;
Samma; Sarki; Shaikh; Shambhani; Shar; Sirki; Siyal; Solangi;
Soomro; Talpur; Unar; Wassan

Ancestral Names
The following are some of ancestral names in
Pakistan.
Arab ancestral names
Abidi; Arain; Abbasi; Alavi; Arby; Awan; Baqari;
Farooqi; Hassani; Hussaini; Jfari; Kazmi; Khalili;
Khawaja; Kirmani; Makhdoom; Malik; Masood; Mian
; Naqvi; Osmani; Qasimi; Quraishi; Rizvi; Sajjadi;
Sazwari; Shaikh; Siddiqui; Suhrawardi; Syed; Taqi;
Tirmirzi; Wasti; Zaidi

Iranian ancestral names

Agha; Alamdar; Ansari; Arjomandi; Binwani; Chishti;
Firdausi; Gardezi; Ghazali; Gurjadi; Hamadani;
Isfahani; Jafari; Jalali; Jalalipoor; Jalalikhah;
Jamshidi; Jamshedipur; Kiani; Kashani; Kermani;
Khanum; Khemlani; Khorasani; Mir; Montazeri;
Nishapuri; Noorani; Qizilbash; Reza; Razavi; Rizvi;
Saadi; Sabzvari; Shirazi; Sistani; Yazdani; Zahedi;
Zand; Zain
Turkish ancestral names
Baig; Barlas; Chughtai; Haqqi; Khan; Mirza; Mughal;
Pasha; Piracha