ECONOMIC factors usually form the prime reasons for most of the violence in the country. In the case of terror though, the impact of economics has been isolated from that of the extremist view of religion and the sources that promote it. In fact, there is a need to identify various factors that converge to give rise to violence if there has to be a resolution on whether the fruits of economic growth will actually stem the rising brutality.

Various forms of violence include domestic violence against women, rape, murder, child labour and abuse and the killings of blood relatives and others, to name a few. While it is true that people in an economically developed environment would be less prone to these crimes, it is important to ascertain if there is a purely bivariate cause-effect relationship between economic development and violence. If not, then the issue necessitates identification of other variables that should be addressed ahead of or along with efforts for economic improvement.

A case in point reported last month was that of a young Indian woman who sold her newborn son for $120 to pay her medical bill. Reportedly, she had been abandoned by her husband. The question is, can it just be the economy? How can a mother part with her infant for a reason that is hardly life-threatening? Is a robust young woman incapable of generating financial resources? Her defeatist attitude reflects some hidden facts, such as an unstable emotional state, which although exacerbated by economic demands clearly transcends them.

In another incident, some months ago, a woman put her four children up for sale in a bazaar in interior Sindh as her ‘innocent’ husband was in prison. The act certainly got her enough mileage as the provincial government had her husband released — she used an economic tool successfully in her pursuit of justice.

In the first case, there appears to be a lack of desire to retain the child for reasons best known to the woman. In the second one, the woman wanted her family together and successfully attained her goal. There are scores of impoverished families in the country but not many come up with the repugnant idea of selling off their children.

Child abuse often occurs if parents are not watchful. For many, child labour is abominable. Nonetheless given the lack of educational and economic opportunities available the poor start preparing their children for a vocation from a young age, just like the affluent send children to school. However, it is up to the parents to select a place that is congenial. If these children are abused, both economic hardships and indifferent parents are to be blamed.

Killing children and other family members is believed to be yet another manifestation of poverty. Among scores of the impoverished, a negligible percentage resorts to this inhuman behaviour. There is, therefore, a need to rule out the influence of drugs and alcohol, gambling, other forms of crime, and poor intrafamily relationships before correlating poverty and killing. This is a subject of case-specific studies undertaken in order to identify specific variables that cannot be generalised.

Since domestic physical violence against women is more common among the poor and low-income groups, it is connected to income levels. However, other factors include the belief that women are inferior and can be beaten up by men; an aspect supported by an inadequately informed clergy. Physically strong women are trained not to resist as it is a ‘divine’ right bestowed upon their men. In this context, the issue cannot be dealt with unless women are armed with ample knowledge about the interpretation of religious texts which, in turn, requires education and economic empowerment. Should we then expect this violence to continue until indigent women have easy access to development?

Actually, this violence will go on for as long as we continue to ignore the influence of male supremacy and distorted ideas. Wrong notions have to be confronted with an aggressive mass campaign about the rightful status of women in society. Mass information campaign will equip women to stand up to injustices at individual and family levels. There is a dire need to enable the tyrannised to rise to various socio-economic levels so that tyranny is quashed before or alongside economic growth efforts. Needless to say, fighting injustice is not contingent on the state of our economic health.