Pakistan Participatory Poverty Assessment

Balochistan Province Report

August 2003

This report is dedicated to the memory of Omar Asghar Khan who was an outstanding, courageous and committed champion of the rights and well-being of the poor

Acknowledgements
This report is based on the analysis and assessment carried out by women, men, and children of nine districts of Balochistan. They presented, examined, and evaluated the realities of their lives, their experiences with poverty and deprivation, and their aspirations for well-being in an astute and candid manner. Their contributions, interest, time and patience are highly acknowledged. Many organisations and individuals are responsible for assisting the process of investigation carried out by the people of Balochistan. The Planning and Development Department, the Social Welfare Department, and the Provincial Bureau of Statistics in the Government of Balochistan played pivotal roles in implementing the PPA in Balochistan. In particular, Mr Ahmed Bakhsh Lehri, Additional Chief Secretary and Mr Abul Hassan, Chief Khushal Pakistan Programme, provided consistent support. Extensive support to the PPA in Balochistan was also provided by the relevant public representatives and government officials at the district, tehsil, and union council levels. Particular thanks are due to Dr Aslam Khan, Chief Poverty at the Poverty Section of the Planning Commission, who provided support to the PPA process. The Institute of Development Studies and Practice (IDSP-Pakistan) served as the coordinating NGO for the PPA in Balochistan. It was responsible for conducting the fieldwork, documenting its findings, and liaising with relevant government officials and departments. Dr Quratulain Bakhteari, Process Manager, PPA-Balochistan was responsible for overall management of the fieldwork and documentation. Mr Ali Naqvi assisted her in all aspects of the fieldwork and documentation. Mr Lal Jan, Fieldwork Manager, PPABalochistan took a lead in managing the fieldwork and the field teams. He also liased with relevant government functionaries at the provincial, district, and local levels. In addition Mr Wasif Rizvi supported the documentation process during the fieldwork. Ms Rashida Aziz provided administrative support to the PPA-Balochistan along with the continued support from IDSP programmatic teams. The project was designed by a team consisting of Ms Rashida Dohad, Mr Omar Asghar Khan, Mr Martin Rimmer, Dr Aslam Khan, Ms Kausar S. Khan, Mr Aly Ercelawn, Mr Mohammed Khalid and Dr David Booth. Mr Martin Rimmer, PPA Manager (OPM), and Ms Rashida Dohad, PPA Coordinator, provided technical and management support to the entire process. They were assisted by Mr. Khalid Mustafa. Dr David Booth (ODI) provided valuable input in the preparatory phase of the PPA, including the fieldwork guide. Ms Dohad also led the two-week training of the fieldteam. Rozan provided training support in relation to the component on gender. Ms Kausar S. Khan (Aga Khan University) also conducted some of the training sessions. Ms Rashida Dohad also led the one-week pilot. Mr Mumtaz Tanoli (SUNGI Development Foundation) and Mr Kashif Hameed provided technical assistance to the site selection and quantitative data collection processes.

The Balochistan PPA field team of 19 fieldworkers facilitated the fieldwork. Some 16 fieldworkers, including 6 women, were drawn from NGOs or worked in their individual capacity. The remaining three fieldworkers, including two females, were from the Government of Balochistan. All field teams worked in difficult conditions with diligence and dedication. Field Team, PPA-Balochistan
Mr Abdul Raheem Kasi Mr Ali Mohamed Baloch Mr Ghulam Rasool Baloch Mr Riaz Ahmed Mangel Mr Mohib Ullah Ms Salma Akhtar Ms Saeeda Manan Ms Amtull Raqeeb Ms Safia Baloch Ms Shazia Ms Shahnaz Mazhar Mr Khalil Kakar Mr Maqbool Baloch Mr Inayat Ullah Ms Rashida Manan Mr Khalil Ronjaha SMART (CBO), Quetta, IDSP Learner Bolan Development Society (CBO), Bolan, IDSP Learner Freelance, Mastung Freelance, Chagai Warang (CBO), Loralai, IDSP Learner Freelance, Kalat Social Welfare Department-Quetta, Government of Balochistan Freelance, Quetta Freelance, Quetta LAFAM (NGO), Loralai CARAVAN (NGO), Swat IDSP Learner, Quetta IDSP Learner, Khuzdar LAFAM (NGO), Loralai, IDSP Learner Freelance, Quetta WANG (CBO), Lasbela, IDSP Learner

Additionally, Mr Nasir Ansari from the Bureau of Statistics, Government of Balochistan collected quantitative data. Ms Zahida Sultana (from the Social Welfare Department, Government of Balochistan) and Mr Najeeb Ahmed, freelance consultant from Kachi, also participated in some of the fieldwork. The Federal Bureau of Statistics supported the analysis of the quantitative data, and we would like to thank in particular the contributions of Mr Abdul Hakim Makhdoom, Mr Hammad Ali and Dr Ludo Carraro. Mr Ali Naqvi, Mr Akbar Zaidi and Mr Abdul Rahim prepared the first draft of the report compiling the findings of the PPA in Balochistan. Mr Simon Brook prepared the final version of the report. Editorial support was provided by Dr Jeremy Holland, Ms Rashida Dohad and Mr Martin Rimmer. Those involved in the PPA project in Pakistan wish to thank the UK Governments Department for International Development for funding this work. However, this report is the responsibility solely of the PPA team. The views expressed here should not be attributed to DFID or to any of its staff members.

Table of Contents
Acknowledgements Table of Contents List of Boxes List of Tables List of Figures List of Abbreviations Executive Summary Map of Balochistan showing field sites 3 5 8 8 9 10 11 26

CHAPTER ONE INCLUDING THE POOR

1.1 Introduction 1.2 What is a PPA and who is it for? 1.3 Background to the Pakistan PPA 1.4 The PPA and poverty policy 1.5 The PPA process in Balochistan 1.5.1 Partnership framework at province level 1.5.2 Selection and training of field teams 1.5.3 Fieldwork and reporting 1.6 Issues and methods 1.6.1 Basic research questions 1.6.2 Levels of analysis 1.6.3 Methodological principles 1.6.4 PRA tools 1.6.5 Triangulation 1.7 Selection of sites for the PPA 1.8 Experiences in the field 27 27 28 30 31 31 31 33 33 33 34 34 35 36 37 39

CHAPTER TWO WHAT DO WE ALREADY KNOW?

2.1 Introduction 2.2 Poverty in Pakistan 2.3 Standards of living in Pakistan 2.4 Key social indicators 2.5 An introduction to the field sites 2.6 Statistical profile of the PPA sites in Balochistan 41 41 41 43 43 53

CHAPTER THREE PERCEPTIONS OF POVERTY AND RIGHTS

3.1 Introduction 3.2 Perceptions of poverty and well-being 3.2.1 The poor and the very poor 3.2.2 The better-off and the well-off 56 56 57 57

3.3 The dimensions of poverty 3.3.1 Economic dimension 3.3.2 Political dimension: lack of voice and powerlessness 3.3.3 Cultural dimension: gender and caste 3.3.4 Institutional dimension 3.4 Contextual perceptions of poverty 3.5 Perceptions of rights and entitlements

58 58 59 60 61 61 62

CHAPTER FOUR ASSETS AND LIVELIHOODS OF THE POOR

4.1 Introduction 4.2 Natural capital 4.2.1 Land 4.2.2 Water 4.2.3 Forests, trees and wildlife 4.2.4 Livestock 4.2.5 Marine and coastal resources 4.3 Human capital 4.4 Produced capital 4.4.1 Physical infrastructure 4.4.2 Credit 4.5 Social capital 4.6 Political capital 4.7 Livelihood options of the poor 64 65 65 66 67 67 68 70 71 71 73 74 75 76

CHAPTER FIVE VULNERABILITY

5.1 Introduction 5.2 Trends affecting the well-being of the poor 5.3 Seasonal shifts affecting the well-being of the poor 5.4 Shocks affecting the well-being of the poor 5.4.1 Natural disasters and environmental shocks 5.4.2 Human shocks 5.4.3 Economic shocks 5.5 Moving into and out of poverty 81 81 83 85 85 88 89 89

CHAPTER SIX SOCIO-ECONOMIC RELATIONS

6.1 Introduction 92 6.2 The situation of poor women 92 6.2.1 Women, power and decision-making 93 6.2.2 Bride price women as commodities and the violent results 94 6.3 Power and socio-economic relations 96 6.4 Social exclusion, organisation and cohesion 98 6.5 Crime and conflict 101

CHAPTER SEVEN INSTITUTIONS

7.1 Introduction 7.2 Educational institutions 7.3 Health institutions 7.4 Infrastructural institutions 7.5 Credit and financial institutions 7.6 Safety nets 7.7 Civil society institutions and organisations 7.8 Security and justice 104 104 106 108 109 109 111 111

CHAPTER EIGHT LIVELIHOOD STRATEGIES AND OUTCOMES

8.1 Introduction 8.2 Strategies and outcomes 114 114

CHAPTER NINE POLICY IMPLICATIONS

9.1 Introduction 9.2 Reducing poverty, strengthening livelihoods 9.3 The vulnerability context in Balochistan: implications for policymaking 9.3.1 Social welfare 9.4 Social relations 9.4.1 Gender and poverty 9.4.2 Caste, ethnicity and poverty 9.5 Conflict, security and access to justice 9.6 Policy summary References Appendix 1 117 118 122 123 123 124 124 125 126 128 129

List of Boxes
Box 1: Box 1.1: Box 3.1: Box 4.1: Box 4.2: Box 5.1: Box 5.2: Box 5.3: Box 5.4: Box 5.5: Box 5.6: Box 5.7: Box 6.1: The importance of livestock The PRA toolbox Gender in a tribal society Five types of capital The importance of livestock Different shocks over the years Drought, the loss of livestock and falling into poverty Death of a bread-winner From affluence to poverty Drought, agriculture and livestock Moving out of poverty skills, investment and opportunity Moving out of poverty migration and remittances The impact of valwar a male perspective 22 36 60 64 68 86 86 89 90 90 91 91 95

Ch1 Ch3 Ch4 Ch5

Ch6

List of Tables
Table 1: Table 2: Ch1 Table 1.1: Table 1.2: Ch2 Table 2.1: Table 2.2: Ch3 Table 3.1: Table 3.2: Ch4 Table 4.1: Table 4.2: Selected PPA Districts, Union Councils and subsites in Balochistan Characteristics of well-being categories Selected Balochistan PPA districts and criteria Selected PPA Union Councils and sub-sites in Balochistan Regional comparison of human development indicators Statistical profile of selected PPA sites in Balochistan province Well-being ranking in Pushtoon Darah, Quetta The dimensions of poverty people are poor when Natural capital and related issues in Balochistan PPA districts Types of physical capital in the PPA sub-sites 12 15 38 39 43 55 58 61 69 72

List of Figures
Ch1 Ch2 Ch5 Figure 1.1: Figure 2.1: Figure 5.1: Figure 5.2: PPA institutional structure Trend in the headcount (% below the poverty line) Changes in natural resources over time The consequences of drought 29 42 82 87

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List of Abbreviations
ADBP AJK BHU BRSP CBO DAC DFID FANA FBS FC IDSP LHV NGO NWFP ODI OPM P&D PBS PIHS PPA PRA PRSP SAP TBA UC UNDP WAPDA Agricultural Development Bank of Pakistan Azad Jammu and Kashmir Basic Health Unit (government-run) Balochistan Rural Support Programme Community-Based Organisation Development Assistance Committee Department for International Development Federally Administered Northern Areas Federal Bureau of Statistics Frontier Corps Institute for Development Studies and Practices Pakistan Lady Health Visitor Non-governmental organisation North West Frontier Province Overseas Development Institute Oxford Policy Management Planning and Development Department Provincial Bureau of Statistics Pakistan Integrated Household Survey Participatory Poverty Assessment Participatory Reflection and Action Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper South Asian Partnership Traditional Birth Attendant Union Council United Nations Development Programme Water and Power Development Authority

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Executive summary
Introduction
A participatory poverty assessment (PPA) is a process for including poor peoples views in the analysis of poverty and in the design of strategies to reduce it. A PPA has been taking place in Balochistan since mid-2001. The PPA in Balochistan is part of a national PPA exercise being carried out by governmental and non-governmental partners. It is intended to contribute to public debate and government thinking about poverty-reduction in Balochistan as well as providing an input into the national PPA process. A PPA starts from the point of view of poor and very poor people, giving voice to their concerns and in this way counter-balancing the top-down approach of most policy thinking. It also provides a set of local case studies rich in contextual detail that emphasises the multidimensionality of poverty and the complexity and dynamics of local coping and adapting strategies that complements well the information from other poverty related surveys. The combination of statistical information and the voices from a PPA provides a good basis for innovative thinking about reducing poverty.

The PPA methodology

The Pakistan PPA involved participatory discussions, activities and analysis in two contrasting sub-sites in each of 54 urban and rural research sites (union councils) throughout Pakistan. In Balochistan, PPA fieldwork was conducted in nine sites, each with two contrasting sub-sites. Sites were selected purposively in order to provide in-depth case studies that illuminated different agro-ecological and social contexts of poverty and livelihoods. The procedure for site selection was intended to ensure, among other things, that there was no systematic bias towards more accessible sites. However, the security and safety of the field teams was an overriding concern that was taken into account in applying the criteria. The selection process involved three steps, at the province, district and union council levels. At each level a facilitated and recorded brainstorming was organised with the participation of major stakeholders and key informants, including representatives at the district and union council levels, government officials, local NGOs, and citizens. At the area level, nine districts reflecting the agro-ecological diversity and ethnic composition in Balochistan were selected. Within each of these selected districts, the poorest union council was then determined and from within this union council, the poorest and a better-off sub-site were selected. The final districts and sub-sites are shown in Table 1.

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Table 1: District

Selected PPA Districts, Union Councils and sub-sites in Balochistan Union Council Poorest sub-site Better-off sub-site
Kallag Teer Taij Lad Ghast Mehram Killa Abdullah Batozai Toesar, Saddar Haji Abdul Qudoos Dasht Shahbaz Kallag Bazdad Kalag Awal Hashim Jurang China Baratkhel Nikhal Adinzai Pushtoon Darah Joisar Kalmat Kahn Zeelag Mashriqi Zawag Khora Chalgari Arambi Nalai Sar Nawai Bazar Qaisar Colony Katagari

Gawadar Awaran Kharan Kachi Killa Abdullah Killa Saifullah Loralai Quetta Panjgur

Three teams of five members (two women and three men) were selected to conduct the fieldwork. The members of the field team were drawn from government departments and local NGOs. Selection was based on a set of criteria including experience in participatory methodologies, particularly Participatory Reflection and Action (PRA), understanding of socio-economic and political issues, willingness and ability to undertake tough fieldwork, skills in documentation and fluency in local languages. A specially designed two-phase training module was organised for PPA fieldworkers. The training focused on developing a shared understanding of the objectives and methods of the PPA. It enhanced the technical capacities of the fieldworkers in facilitating participatory analysis using PRA, including communication skills and self-awareness. The training also addressed the behaviour and attitudes of the fieldworkers raising awareness of principles of respecting poor people, their knowledge and their capabilities. During the fieldwork in each site, the field teams sought views from a range of local people, especially those who could usually be regarded as marginalised and excluded from research, analysis and policy processes, for example the very poor, women, minority ethnic groups and the very old. In each sub-site, groups of local men and women analysed local poverty issues using Participatory Reflection and Action (PRA) methodologies. The PPA field teams facilitated this process and also recorded the analysis in activity and site reports that are the main basis of this provincial synthesis report. Field teams also noted separately their own observations and experiences in these reports. Analysis from the field was complemented by data from secondary sources to enable a degree of triangulation of research results. The Balochistan PPA process was coordinated by a management group consisting of the Chief Poverty Planning and Development Department, representatives of IDSP-Pakistan (lead NGO in Balochistan); and the PPA office in Islamabad. The management group worked under the Balochistan Steering Committee headed by the Additional Chief Secretary, Planning and Development Department.

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Research questions
A livelihoods framework was used to bridge the gap between realities at the grassroots level and the implications for policy makers. The participatory analysis conducted in all of the research sites focused on three basic research questions: Who are the poor (within each site) and who are the better off? What have been the principal changes affecting the area/group over different periods of time, and what factors have influenced these processes? What resources, socio-economic and gender relationships, organisations and institutions are relevant to the area/group? The findings from these three questions were used, in combination, to answer a fourth question: What scope is there for improvement in public policies, institutions and regulatory frameworks, and what other changes would increase the opportunities open to poor people?

Perceptions of poverty
While much is known about the causes of poverty, policies that affect poor people are often driven by prejudices and vested interests and with an indifference to external or structural causes of poverty. The PPA tries to avoid mistakes based on ignorance and the self-interest of the powerful by beginning from the way actual groups of poor people describe their situation and their problems working outwards from this to the analysis of more complex institutional problems and policy issues. The PPA in Balochistan showed that the perceptions of poverty held by the poor did not focus solely on economic or material concerns (ie income or material resources) but went much further to encompass cultural, social and political identity. Poverty, in other words, was perceived to be multidimensional. It was also understood that poverty is not evenly distributed throughout society, but that well-being depends on gender, age, tribe/caste, religion, family structure and local conditions. While different categories of analysts in terms of gender, age, tribe/caste or religion placed different emphasis on different aspects of poverty, there were also common criteria used across the Balochistan sub-sites. Local terms used to describe the poor in Balochistan included gharib (poor), miskin (passive and submissive), khwar (one who get no returns in spite of hard work), bebas (powerless), bechara (with no social support or standing), and bhooka (hungry). These terms give a clear indication that local analysts considered poverty to comprise lack of resources, lack of support, lack of dignity and lack of power.

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Common indicators of poor households and individuals described by the local analysts in Balochistan included being a widow, having few or no male children in a household, landlessness, owning no livestock, households having no income earner, working for daily wages, unemployment, not having sufficient clothes or shoes, being unable to afford medical treatment or fuel in winter, and being unable to afford sufficient food. Additionally, other indicators of poverty included powerlessness, lack of influence in decision-making processes or access to justice, and the poor and the poorest lacked access to basic services such as health and education. Although these indicators were generally common across the PPA sites and analysts, perceptions also differed both within communities (dependant upon gender, ethnicity and social status) and between communities. For instance, in Pushtoon areas, those who did not have landi (a local dried meat) were considered very poor, and those who could not pay the bride price to get married were also considered to be poor. In the urban sub-sites of Quetta, beggars, drug addicts and those whose children were labouring were considered to be very poor, whilst those without televisions or gas connections were considered to be poor. Women particularly considered disability and being a second wife to be indicators of poverty. Poverty status was also strongly associated with social characteristics. Widows who had no support, orphans and people in low castes were considered to be very poor, as were the disabled and mentally ill. Tribal, religious and political leaders were considered to be well-off. In most sites, the number of people or households perceived to be well-off was small, and in some sub-sites analysts explained that there were no people who could be categorised as well-off using their locally defined criteria. In the rural sub-sites of Balochistan, analysts generally described the characteristics of the better-off as including having land, water and a tractor for cultivation, owning livestock, having a car, being able to afford the education of male children or being able to afford private education, having access to healthcare services, being educated and having a business. The well-off were also perceived to have power and influence in local decisionmaking institutions and processes. This power even went as far as having control over the votes of lower castes in the area, their tenants, and people who had borrowed from them. Across the PPA sites, analysts generally perceived that poverty levels were increasing. The effects of drought were stated to be major contributing factors to declining well-being at both household and community level. Households which were previously better-off had become poor, and poor households had become very poor.

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Table 2:

Characteristics of well-being categories, compiled from well-being analysis across the Balochistan PPA sites
Well-being category Better-off Poor Young men / men Women Able to pay Cannot feed guests electricity bills Cannot afford bride Children study in price (in Pushtoon government communities) school No women in the More male household so men children in do household work household Large family size Few or no male children One income earner in household Cannot afford utility bills One room house Small job Landless Landholdings No livestock Livestock No television (in Can afford urban areas) education and No electricity or gas healthcare Limited access to services natural resources Good housing Land but no Some skills and irrigation or tractor education (in Loralai) Fishing boat (in Gawadar) Small shop Daily wage labour Business Hawker Overseas Selling firewood migration Women work to Agriculture supplement Livestock household income Migration to urban areas Eat less than two meals per day Credit from shopkeepers Unemployed Has access to Limited access to formal and informal justice informal justice institutions (jirga) Representation in Access to decision-making community based processes institutions (in some sites) Very poor Young women Second wife Low caste (Darzada) Widows with no support Stigmatised Not respected Helpless / unhappy Female children Disabled Orphans Drug addicts Mentally ill In severe debt No access to healthcare Lack decent shoes and clothes Poor or no house No access to education No access to natural resources

Well-off Men Religious leader Tribal leader Powerful Influential Educated Respected Sardar Seth Zikri clan (Gawadar District)

Social characteristics Assets

Large landholdings Has good access to medical care Vehicles Has property Well maintained house Children study in private schools Good education Business 2-3 government workers in household Family member works in foreign country Good business Credit from banks

Political and social capital

Influential in decision-making processes and institutions Access to rights Access to formal justice institutions Can influence / instruct votes of poor

Begging Dependent on charity Reliant on community support Eat chillies with water to mask hunger Take loans from landlords and work as bonded labour Women engage in income earning No voice No power No access to justice No access to government institutions Excluded from social events and institutions Gender-based discrimination

Coping and livelihood strategies

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Socio-economic and gender relations

Whilst a lack of power was common to all those in poverty, socially constructed factors such as gender, ethnicity and caste amplified the nature of powerlessness. Being from a low caste, or being a woman, automatically predisposed people to increased levels of vulnerability and poverty. In Gawadar District, for instance, households from the Darzada caste (a low caste) had no rights or respect given to them they were highly vulnerable and had to obey the demands of influential notables in the area. Women generally had low status, low access to assets and resources, low access to justice and low influence. Young women particularly suffered lower access to good clothing, food, and basic services such as education or healthcare than men. Despite this, they were often burdened with heavier workloads than young men. Widows who had no support were considered poor. As one young 18-year-old woman from Kachi District explained the view of her husband: My husband says, women are just like rotten leaves as these leaves have no importance, so women have no value at all. Analysts perceived conflicting trends in the well-being of women over the decades preceding the PPA. One group of women in Pushtoon Darah perceived that women had improved levels of well-being compared to the past: modern facilities and equipment had eased workloads and violence against women had decreased. However, other women did not support this view. In Kharan, women stated that the well-being of women had deteriorated over time: men had become more aggressive to women; women received less respect now than in the past; womens health status had decreased; and the workload of women had increased, especially as women were increasingly compelled to earn an income in order to cope with the effects of drought on household livelihoods. The tradition of bride price was perceived by many women to reduce their status to mere commodities. Under the custom of valwar (bride price), brides are purchased from their families. Poor women analysts perceived that the practice had severe negative consequences on their status and well-being. It also caused indebtedness for the groom, which often resulted in the selling of land, livestock or other assets. Even young daughters were sold to repay debts or given as part of a bride price. The status of women, however, did vary between social groups. Poor women perceived that a woman from a better-off or rich family had more opportunity to marry according to her will. In Pushtoon Darah and Qaisar Colony this was also perceived to happen in households with higher levels of education. The practice of valwar (bride price) was less common in these households. Ethnicity was also a factor in determining valwar, with Pushtoon households more likely to engage in the practice than non-Pushtoon households.

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Women had no control over the money paid as valwar instead it was given to male members of her family. From a social perspective, if a woman did not take valwar then she was taunted and treated without respect she was perceived as a person of no value. As a result of valwar, a woman was like a slave and helpless. Women suffered cruel treatment from in-laws, but because they could not leave the house without permission, mobility was restricted and they were unable to seek justice. Some women in Quetta explained that if valwar was not paid, women were in a better position within the marriage they could even raise their voice to their husband. Stories of torture and violence against women were common. Women were often beaten by their husbands and were sometimes even killed. However, the police remained largely unaware of these crimes or, if they were aware of them, they were unwilling to deal with them properly. In Kharan, analysts explained that women could not go to police stations because men were in charge there and bribery was common. Women were fearful of their husbands reactions if they told anyone outside the household of their suffering. If a woman did try to obtain justice, people from both within and outside her household would insult her. Local power relations also played a central role in shaping poor peoples lives. In Kachi District, the most influential person in a village was the landlord. Land was a significant source of power and generally concentrated in the hands of a few individuals. Where this was the case, many people worked as tenants. Often landlords provided loans to tenants but the debt was paid back in the form of labour and resulted in extremely inequitable labour relationships, or bonded labour. The landlord gives us as much as we need, but we are restricted because of this. We work for him on low wages until we are able to repay his loan, so in this way we become a prisoner. (Female analysts, Awal Hashim, Kachi District) Tribal structure was also a significant determinant of power. Tribal social structure kept women oppressed, and did not allow the poor to move out of poverty: tribal leaders had all the power, resources, and influence in the community. In Kharan District, the sardar is the tribal chief and people have complete faith in him. He is powerful because he is the sardar. A group of women explained that people would vote whichever way the sardar wanted them to. In Killa Saifullah District, male analysts stated that the malik (chief) was the head of four sub-tribes (Mazgha Peerzai, Barakzai, Khuwachakzai, and Musazai) within the Batozai tribe. The malik has the most power in the village and resolves disputes over land, water, or within the family. His source of power is his tribal authority within the community. Religious leaders and local politicians or officials also had significant power within communities.

Local understandings of Rights in Balochistan

Poor people in Balochistan stated that one of the main reasons for their poverty was that their rights were not being delivered their rights and

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entitlements were ignored or suppressed. Analysts perceived that the denial of rights occurred both institutionally and under the guise of tradition and culture. Local analysts used the term haq, meaning right, across all the PPA sites in Balochistan. The source of rights was generally perceived to be the government and it was generally perceived to be failing in its delivery of poor peoples rights. Across the sites, analysts perceived that the basic rights to which all people were entitled included access to basic services such as health and education, employment opportunities, relief and social protection, an equal voice in decision-making processes, and justice. Some perceptions of rights were prioritised differently between groups of analysts. Women, for instance, stated that they had the right to lead a life free from domestic violence and abuse. However, despite having clear perceptions of what their rights should be, poor people generally suffered less access to their rights than better-off people. Moreover, regardless of social status, women suffered disproportionately from a lack of access to their rights. Women particularly were denied rights to basic government services, either through a failure on the supply side for instance the provision of school facilities for girls was woefully inadequate or through demand-side constraints such as the low value placed on female education within many families and communities. Similarly, women were denied their rights to healthcare due to a lack of female medical staff in a context where social norms required women to be treated by women. Whilst most analysts expressed that it was their right to voice their opinions and that they should be consulted about decisions that concerned them, this right was always denied to women. Women were denied equal rights in decision-making at both community and household level indeed, amongst the majority of poorer households they were even denied the right to make choices regarding their own marriages. The ability of poor people to realise their rights was limited in two ways: first because institutions did not support the effective provision, exercise and protection of rights; and second, because poor people were often unable to afford to exercise their basic rights even when they were provided. The general outcome of this was that poor people had fewer entitlements than the well-off. Across all the PPA sites in Balochistan, local analysts were articulate, and at times even vociferous, about their rights. In many cases analysts were also aware of why their rights were being suppressed and by whom.

The vulnerability context in Balochistan

A range of trends, shocks and seasonal shifts over which poor people have little or no control can have serious impacts on the livelihoods of poor people. In Balochistan, these changes and trends in the natural resource base were spurred in particular by increasing land fragmentation and environmental

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degradation, and the accompanying need for communities to adapt appropriately to these changing circumstances to protect and sustain their livelihoods. Sudden shocks were caused by the loss of a job or the death of an income earner. Seasonal factors included harsh winters and rough seas in summer. Some changes, such as improved access to markets for fish in Gawadar, had the potential to decrease local vulnerability, although often these positive impacts were outweighed by the impacts of negative trends and shocks. Over the two decades preceding the PPA in Balochistan, the most powerful negative trends to arise were the decline in the availability of, access to, and quality of natural resources. Across the rural sites, forests, cultivated land, crops, orchards and water livestock all showed declining or deteriorating trends. In the coastal areas of Balochistan, fish stocks were also declining, coupled with the illegal fishing by the big fishing companises with modern fishing equipment. The only improving trend described in Balochistan was in vegetable crops. Forests were shrinking at alarming rates in some sites, and access of poor people to remaining forest resources was also perceived to be falling. Reasons behind this trend were identified as population increases, the cutting of trees for timber and fuel (both for domestic consumption and selling), and the drought conditions experienced in the years preceding the PPA. Drought and deforestation were also contributing to a fall in livestock numbers as the availability of water and fodder from forests fell. Livestock owners were left with no choice but to purchase fodder from the market. Drought had also affected agricultural productivity, which was also perceived to be declining. Water is crucial to the production of crops in the arid, desert and barani (rain-fed) PPA sites. Without water, opportunities for agricultural labour declined, crops became more susceptible to diseases and pests, and levels of food security fell. Local people previously received an income from almond orchards but now they did not even have enough almonds for their own consumption. Household productivity was also affected by land fragmentation, an increasing trend as landholdings were divided amongst an ever-increasing population with the result that average household landholdings are becoming less able to support a family. We worry day and night about how to find food for our children. We adults mix chillies with water and eat that with bread. We have got used to it but our children dont eat this food and become sick. (Male analyst, Panjgur District) In Quetta, an urban site, population increase and a decrease in the availability of labouring and job opportunities were important trends. Causes of these trends included the increasing number of refugees and migrants from other areas of Balochistan. This was perceived by some analysts to have both increased competition for jobs, and also decreased the level of security and

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social cohesion as people from other areas and different tribes moved to urban areas. In an area such as Balochistan where people remained highly dependent on natural resources, seasonal changes played a significant role in livelihood management. Expenditure outlays and sources of difficulty such as ill-health also tended to be seasonal. The interaction of these factors meant that many poor households experienced particular stress, and consequent dangers of permanent impoverishment, at particular times of the year. Seasonal shifts affected different communities, households and individuals in different ways. Winter in most rural areas, for instance, emerged as a period of major stress for local people due to livestock illnesses, shortages of fodder and firewood, decreasing quantities of stored food, and fewer employment opportunities. In urban Quetta, opportunities for wage labour also declined in winter as work on government contracts and in building construction decreased. However, in Kachi, analysts perceived that the first two months of winter was usually a time when people could relax after having sold all their crops. In summer, extreme heat caused health problems making work difficult. In the late summer cases of malaria increased and employment opportunities also fell again. In Gawadar, the coastal PPA site, fishermen could not go to sea for three months from June to August because their small boats could not cope with rough seas at this time of year. During these three months some fishermen migrated to other places to look for work while most people just stayed at home or borrowed money from the seth for their household expenditures. For all but the wealthiest households, one shock such as an illness, natural disaster or theft could initiate a vicious circle of asset liquidation and debt from which it was difficult if not impossible to escape. Even better-off households could fall prey to shocks. Shocks affected men and women, the old and the young, in different ways. Often, the long-term effect of shocks, and of some of the coping strategies adopted (selling livestock, for instance), was to reduce the asset base of poor households, thus undermining any improvements in well-being that people might have enjoyed and increasing their vulnerability and liability to fall into profound poverty in the future. Some of the most severe environmental shocks that affected people in Balochistan included drought, death of livestock and crop failure. Death, disability or illness of an income earning family member or household head, could plunge a household into severe poverty. This was especially the case for those households with no male children or other source of support for their livelihood.

Assets and livelihood strategies

Vulnerability is linked to peoples ability to invest in or draw down on their assets in the face of shocks, trends and seasonal shifts such as those outlined above. The livelihoods framework uses a range of assets or capitals (natural, human, produced, social and political) that poor people may have

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access to in various ways to produce a livelihood. Livelihood strategies are only sustainable when they maintain or build up peoples asset base. The local participants in the Balochistan sub-sites analysed their access to various assets and the livelihood strategies they were able to adopt in order to cope with or adapt to shocks and changes in their lives. Many aspects of life had deteriorated significantly, particularly for marginalised individuals and groups. Good quality and easily accessible natural resources were of vital importance to peoples livelihood strategies in Balochistan. Dependence on natural resources remained high despite trends of increasing environmental degradation and decreasing availability. However, the natural capital available to poor people in each site, and the importance they placed upon it, varied significantly. In the sub-sites of Gawadar, for instance, mangroves and the ocean were important forms of natural capital whilst in Kachi, the main forms of natural capital were agricultural land and forests. Local people laid collective/social claims to many natural resources in their areas. However, despite this, access was often difficult and declining. The general impacts of deforestation, however, were more strongly felt by the poorest, who continued to rely heavily on common property resources. Local analysts in Awaran, for example, perceived that forest resources had both decreased in quantity, and that what remained was also less accessible to the poor. Water was widely considered the most important natural resource. But almost everywhere, it had become increasingly scarce. Most of Balochistan is arid or barani (rain-fed) irrigated; only a small area is irrigated through canals. The lack of water due to persistent drought conditions had also contributed significantly to a fall in the livestock numbers across the province. Livestock formed an important part of many livelihood strategies, and the effect of this reduction was severe. Land is of central importance both as a productive resource upon which to grow food, keep livestock and build a home, and as a source of well-being, security, and power. For the poor, having some land is a reliable source of money in bad times it can be sold to repay debts or when unexpected expenses arise. However, land distribution patterns in Balochistan were generally far from equal. In many PPA sites, the largest landholdings belonged to just a few local notables. The majority of the poor had no land and worked as tenants on other peoples land. In some sites, however, access to, and ownership of, land was more equitably distributed. In Kalmat, the better-off sub-site in Gawadar District, analysts stated that everyone had a piece of land on which they grew crops and animal fodder: there were few if any tenants. However, even though they owned land, the lack of water had resulted in most land being barren and unproductive. Women in Balochistan generally suffered poorer access to education and healthcare facilities compared to men. Not only were post-primary schools for

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girls often lacking but, in many communities, it was not considered as important for girls to receive an education as for boys. The status of women as commodities to be bought and sold was maintained by the practice of paying a bride price, especially in Pushtoon areas. One result of this was to further reinforce the notion that any investment in female education was wasted, as the women would be sold to another household. The declining availability of good quality natural resources had increased the need for poor people to increasingly look for alternative sources of livelihood. In some cases, these were still based on natural resources (ie increasing numbers of people engaged in mat-weaving using peesh, a small bush), whilst in others, people were increasingly forced to diversify into off-farm forms of employment and income. Box 1: The importance of livestock Mohammad is from Panjgur District. He used to have 500 sheep and goats before the drought - now he has just 10. Due to the drought, all have died. He has no other source of livelihood and is selling his remaining livestock. Mohammad explained that the drought has made him destitute and now he begs for flour from the other villagers. He feels great shame in spreading his hands in front of others. For the survival of his livestock he borrowed money and purchased fodder, but the livestock perished and now he is in debt.

Men were increasingly migrating to look for work in other areas of Balochistan or Pakistan, especially in urban areas. In some cases, especially where people had access to higher levels of financial and human capital, they were migrating overseas. However, opportunities for this were perceived to have fallen in the years preceding the PPA. In some households, women were also increasingly engaged in income earning occupations, for instance, mat weaving and embroidery. However, the fact that women were compelled to do this was perceived as a sign of household poverty in many sites. The ability to engage productively in off-farm livelihoods was strongly influenced by available levels of various forms of capital. The higher levels of access to human and produced capital often necessary to take advantage of good employment and livelihood diversification opportunities were not generally available to the poor in the Balochistan sites. In times of crisis, both formal and informal safety nets have a role to play in providing support to people coping with shocks and stress to prevent them falling into, or further into, poverty. There were various informal and formal institutional mechanisms of safety net provision for the poorest households in the sub-sites of Balochistan. However, publicly provided social protection systems such as zakat and bait-ul-mal were perceived to be ineffective and not administered in a transparent manner most poor households could not benefit properly from them. The lack of effective publicly provided social protection mechanisms meant that in the poorest households, and in times of crisis and indebtedness, the main safety nets available were informal. Poor

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households often relied on meagre savings or, more usually, borrowing. Formal institutions providing credit were, however, also generally inaccessible to the poor. The result is that people relied more on informal institutions, particularly in the areas of social protection and conflict resolution. The poor relied on informal local support systems, often based on kinship. Better-off people sometimes gave alms in the form of livestock, or distributing sweets, meals and clothes amongst the poor. In urban Pushtoon Darah, the poorest sub-site in Quetta, male analysts explained that there were rich people in the city who gave donations to the poor. They also said that there were social organisations in the city that help the poor and needy people. However, borrowing from informal sources of credit, or receiving support from well-off people, often came at a price. Analysts included people selling their daughters to pay back loans, working as bonded labour until debts were repaid, and having to vote according to the wishes of powerful well-off people, as examples of the heavy prices.

Political capital and institutional dynamics

Political capital in the Balochistan sub-sites was heavily concentrated in the hands of just a few people. Poor people viewed political power as only being enjoyed by better-off and well-off people. Further, minority groups, such as the Darzada were generally excluded from mainstream political processes. Minority ethnic groups and lower castes suffered from more limited access to assets, basic services, institutions, rights and justice. People from low castes had no rights and if they did not obey the orders of the notables in the area, they faced dire consequences. Low castes were extremely vulnerable and given no respect by others - they were not considered to be equal with others. The lack of political capital of the poor and the poorest was very evident and this affected their influence on the decision-making processes that impacted their livelihood strategies, options and choices. The jirga emerged as the most significant decision making institution at local level in the Balochistan sites. It was generally perceived to be both quick and fair. Most people accepted its decisions because they perceived that all issues were discussed openly and there was no interference from government only in rare cases were injustices thought to occur. However, women had no representation on the jirga and no access to justice or their rights, and in Killa Saifullah local people felt that while justice was their right, even in the tribal jirga system the poor were ignored. Insecurity, or an inability to obtain justice, could push even better-off households into poverty. Across the sites, analysts perceived that the responsibility for providing security and justice lay with the government. However, there was general dissatisfaction with the government institutions mandated to provide security and justice to the people of Balochistan: they were widely regarded as inefficient and corrupt. It was widely observed that when a crime was committed, the police left the criminals and started harassing innocent citizens and demanding money from them. The Frontier

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Corps were also widely criticised in PPA sites close to the border for their corruption and rudeness. Access to justice was perceived to be difficult for the poor, but much easier for the better-off and rich. However, it was not solely government security and justice institutions that had bad reputations. PPA analysts in Balochistan perceived that government institutions generally were failing to address the needs of the poor. Institutions mandated to provide health, education and other basic utilities and services were perceived to be largely failing in the effective delivery of services and inaccessible to the poor. These were generally considered to be basic rights, as discussed above, by the local analysts in Balochistan, and the denial of these rights was believed to contribute significantly to the vulnerability and poverty of local people. As the main provider and guarantor of rights in Balochistan was perceived to be the government, analysts often urged policy makers to consider immediately how to address the causes and manifestations of poverty that have been articulated by poor people in the Balochistan PPA.

Policy recommendations
The Balochistan PPA report concludes with a set of policy recommendations based on the expressed policy priorities of poor local analysts, and PPA fieldworkers and report writers interpretations of information gathered during the full range of PPA activities. These are summarised below in four broad areas to be considered in the formulation of poverty reduction policies and strategies. 1. Increase access to, quality of, and control over resources and assets Effective policies for managing natural resources are essential to reducing poverty in Balochistan The government should examine strategies to reduce the inequitable distribution of land In addition to equitable land distribution policies, investments in infrastructure, services and institutions should be examined to enable increases in productivity Interventions to support and strengthen livelihoods, and reduce poverty, should not focus exclusively on one type of asset or capital Access to affordable education and healthcare must be equal for all, regardless of gender, caste or social status Staff absenteeism is a major factor in determining access to and quality of public services and must be addressed The quality of basic services must be monitored and improved The provision of basic infrastructure plays a vital role in increasing access to employment, markets and basic services The government should implement policies and strategies that will increase employment opportunities, together with legislation to protect workers from exploitative employment practices

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2. Reduce vulnerability and provide adequate social protection The government should take a broad view of social protection to include risk reduction, impact mitigation and coping strategies Current formal safety net provision must be improved by increasing funding, transparency and accountability The government should examine other possible mechanisms for providing social protection to the poor and vulnerable 3. Eliminate discrimination based on gender, ethnicity or caste Equality in terms of access to rights political, social and institutional is vital to increasing the well-being levels of the poor, and particularly women and minority social groups Gender-based discrimination must be considered in all policy and strategy formulation to ensure that women benefit fully and are not marginalised further The government must ensure that minority groups are not discriminated against in the provision of social services, employment opportunities, or in the dispensation of justice Both supply side and demand side constraints on the access of women to basic services must be addressed Cultural and traditional discrimination must be addressed through strong and effective policies and strategies backed by the political and judicial will to implement them fully The traditional practice of bride price, which results in the commodification of women, must be addressed Strong and enforceable laws must be implemented to eliminate domestic violence against women Inequitable social relationships resulting in forms of bonded labour must be addressed and eliminated 4. Ensure equal access to justice regardless of gender or social status Addressing the subjects of crime, disorder and police / Frontier Corps corruption should be considered a central focus in any political platform or policy initiative claiming to promote development and reduce poverty Access to affordable and fair justice for the poor and marginalised, and particularly for women, must be increased Perpetrators of crimes must be prosecuted regardless of their social, economic or political status

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Map of Balochistan showing field sites

Note: The district of Loralai, at the time of the PPA, included Musa Khel and Barkhan. These two are now separate districts as shown in the figure. The same applies to District Kachi which is divided into two districts i.e. Bolan and Jhal Magsi.

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CHAPTER ONE INCLUDING THE POOR

1.1 Introduction

In 1998 the PPA design mission visited Balochistan and introduced the idea of the PPA to the provincial government and a number of NGOs. In 2001 the process began and meetings were held with senior government officials in the Planning and Development Department of the Balochistan Government. Fieldwork for the PPA was undertaken in late 2001 and early 2002. This was followed up by synthesis at district, province and national level and documentation. This chapter provides a background to the process of the PPA in Balochistan and puts it into the context of the PPA in Pakistan. The training and research methods used in Balochistan were standard to all the provinces. Some issues were specific to Balochistan and these have been included in this chapter in the experiences in the field section. This chapter also provides a background to the PPA in Pakistan and linkages of the PPA to national, provincial and district level.

1.2

What is a PPA and who is it for?

A participatory poverty assessment, or PPA, has been defined as an instrument for including poor peoples views in the analysis of poverty, and in the formulation of strategies to reduce it. Ideally speaking, PPA is a process that starts with grass-roots participatory analysis and dialogue, and culminates in better policies and more effective action for poverty reduction. A PPA is not just a new type of study of poverty and its causes. It aims to achieve four things: better understanding of poverty; new constituencies for anti-poverty action; enhanced accountability to poor people; and, more effective policies and action. A comparative analysis of PPAs conducted in the 1990s indicated that there was a shift in focus between first and second generation of PPAs. A key distinguishing factor is the emphasis successfully placed by second generation PPAs on wide stakeholder participation. The poor are the key primary stakeholders of PPAs. Other primary stakeholders in Pakistans PPA include policy makers at the federal, provincial, and district government levels, and NGOs. Secondary stakeholders include public opinion and image-makers, researchers and academics. The PPA stakeholder partnership is important at three levels. First, it is important to develop a partnership between the key primary stakeholders, the poor, who experience poverty and other primary stakeholders including
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government and NGOs that are attempting to better understand it. This partnership is critical for achieving the PPA goals of deepening shared understanding of poverty and facilitating individual and collective stakeholder action to reduce it. The second level of stakeholder partnership is between the government and NGO partners that are included as other primary stakeholders. The institutional mechanism for implementing the PPA in Pakistan is designed to facilitate the creation and strengthening of this level of partnership. However, for the partnership to deliver its expected outputs, all partners must share a common purpose and work together to achieve it. The partners must recognise interdependence and promote and demonstrate: mutual trust and respect; open and direct communication; sharing; and, mutual support. The third level of partnership is between the primary and secondary stakeholders and seeks to build wide multi-stakeholder participation. A greater number of stakeholders with greater ownership will create a constituency of support for the PPA that will directly impact on its effectiveness. Consistent emphasis on wide sharing of, and feedback on, the PPAs objectives, process and outputs will develop and strengthen a culture of inclusiveness and openness that is required for forging this level of partnership.

1.3

Background to the Pakistan PPA

The Pakistan PPA, which began in early 2001, can be divided into three stages: setting up the institutional framework; fieldwork; and, follow-up. The first stage included setting up the provincial and national steering committees as well as preparing the fieldwork guide and the training programme. The second stage covered training and pilot testing and fieldwork (three months) in each of Pakistan's provinces and areas. In the final stage, key findings were widely disseminated and followed up at province/area and national levels through a public dissemination programme. The main outputs from the fieldwork stage of project will be: Four province, two area (FANA, FATA), one AJK, and one national PPA report; and, A film that will highlight the experiences of the poor. It follows that the PPA process needs to involve a lot more than field research in poor communities. The outputs of the follow-up stage will include: Dissemination programme: workshops for government, NGOs and donors, briefings for journalists, screenings of PPA video; and, Action plans to take forward the principal findings and recommendations at province and federal level.
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With respect to management of the PPA, the following Figure 1.1 shows the institutional mechanism that brings the primary public and private stakeholders together. Broadly, the steering committees at the national and provincial/area levels play a key role in coordinating the design, implementation, and follow up of the PPA. Senior federal and provincial/area government representatives chair these committees. They include representatives of all relevant government ministries/departments (including those at the district levels), NGO PPA partners, and other specialists. These committees also help coordination as they bring together all relevant institutional partners. Figure 1.1: PPA institutional structure

National Steering Committee

Provincial Steering Committees

Steering Committee of CRPRID*

Provincial/Area Management Committees

Poverty Alleviation Section Planning Commission

Coordinating NGO Other NGO fieldworkers

FBS / PBS fieldworkers Government fieldworkers

*Centre for Research on Poverty Reduction and Income Distribution

At the federal level, the Poverty Section of the Planning Commission, through the PPA Office based in Islamabad, managed the PPA process. Oxford Policy Management (OPM), Overseas Development Institute (ODI), and a team of national consultants provided the PPA Office technical and managerial support. At the provincial/area levels a Provincial/Area management committee was established to manage the PPA process on a day-to-day basis. This committee reports to the relevant Provincial/Area Steering Committee. In each
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province and in AJK/FANA, a coordinating NGO was contracted to oversee and implement the training and fieldwork. The coordinating NGO chairs the management committee comprising of representatives of all the organisations (government and NGOs) that are directly involved in the fieldwork for the PPA. These committees support information sharing and effective coordination of the implementation of the PPA at the provincial/area and field site levels. The Institute for Development Studies and Practice (IDSP), an NGO, coordinated the PPA in Balochistan

1.4

The PPA and poverty policy

Pakistans policies to reduce poverty are organised around the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) framework and PRSPs are to be implemented at both federal and provincial level. Although the PPA was not designed as an instrument to specifically monitor the implementation and outcomes of the Pakistan PRSP it can be extremely useful to this end. The traditional approach to monitoring poverty has until relatively recently focused on estimating income or expenditure based poverty lines from household survey data. From this, poverty comparisons are made between regions and across time. However, in the last few years, the multidimensionality of poverty has been highlighted in the 2000/01 World Development Report, the DAC Poverty Guidelines and a number of Human Development Reports and Poverty Reports from UNDP (Booth and Lucas, 2001). As a result of this change in the perception of poverty, the framework for the monitoring of PRSPs requires a commitment to goals in addition to reducing the percentage under the poverty line. Specifically, this implies giving priority to a wide range of social indicators related to poverty in addition to income data from household expenditure surveys. It is also now usual to mention in PRSPs that there is a need for some sort of participatory poverty assessment exercise to deepen the understanding of poverty. However, in their wide-ranging review of PRSPs, Booth and Lucas (2001) conclude that despite the fact that the multidimensionality of poverty is frequently cited, income poverty remains the central focus of monitoring in many countries. Given that income poverty is sometimes not directly related to other measures of well-being (for example nutritional status), the monitoring of a wider range of variables is very important. At the same time, few poverty monitoring systems have been successful at including the findings of participatory or qualitative research. In particular, there is a need to broaden the PPA agenda from Who are the poor? to What is going wrong with the design and implementation of anti-poverty policies and programmes? Thus, the onus is very much on the managers of PPAs to produce policy-relevant information. It is hoped that the Pakistan PPA will contribute to this end. Before moving on to look at the Balochistan PPA, one general point about the quantitative/qualitative dichotomy with respect to poverty monitoring is worth making. Quantitative methods are not necessarily more rigorous or reliable than qualitative ones (Booth and Lucas, 2001). This may also not be the best way of formulating the distinction between the two approaches. An alternative is to use the terms contextual and non-contextual. Contextual information

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requires interpretation in its social, economic and cultural context. An example would be access to health care being blocked by a local official. Noncontextual information is untainted by the particular context in which it is collected. An example of this would be that households below the poverty line in a particular country have high dependency ratios. Booth and Lucas go on to argue that stressing the importance of context has proved useful in advocating the value of participatory techniques in poverty assessment and monitoring. In particular, it has an affinity with the tendency to focus on geographical locality as a key element in poverty monitoring.

1.5

The PPA process in Balochistan

The PPA process in Pakistan is based on close partnership and co-operation between all the participating stakeholders. This was reflected in the organisation of the process in Balochistan. 1.5.1 Partnership framework at province level To provide the basic framework of the provincial PPA, the Government of Balochistan set up a management group consisting of Chief Poverty (Khushal Pakistan Program) (focal point), and representatives of IDSP (lead NGO in Balochistan) and the PPA office in Islamabad. This group was responsible for the overall management of the fieldwork in Balochistan. The management group worked under the Balochistan Steering Committee headed by the Provincial Additional Chief Secretary (Planning and Development Department), Mr Ahmed Bakhsh Lehri. 1.5.2 Selection and training of field teams The selection process formally started in July 2001 with the selection of researchers from within Balochistan. Three teams of five members (including two women and three men) were selected to conduct the fieldwork. Field teams were drawn from local NGOs and government departments (Social Welfare Department and Bureau of Statistics P&D Department). A panel consisting of members of the management group interviewed a large number of candidates during a two-day interviewing process. Selection was based on a set of criteria including experience in participatory methodologies, particularly Participatory Reflection and Action (PRA), understanding of socioeconomic and political issues, willingness and ability to undertake tough fieldwork, ability to work in a team, facilitation and documentation skills, and fluency in local languages. PRA is not widely practised in Balochistan and very few trained PRA researchers, particularly women, were available. Therefore, although familiarity and experience in PRA was a primary criterion, candidates were assessed for their experience in development, especially in research-oriented projects, and their commitment to poverty reduction. Some of the candidates had connections with IDSP so care was taken to ensure that the selection process was impartial.

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In view of the possibility of early attrition in the field-teams, some extra candidates were selected and included in the training. All the candidates were told that the final selection of the teams would be made after the training. An intensive, especially designed two-phase training module was organised for PPA fieldworkers. In the first phase, a 12-day in-house training session was held from 5th to 19th August 2001 in Quetta. In the second phase, a seven-day pilot to field test the PPA approach was held from 29th August to 4th September 2001 in Splingi (Mastung). The two phases of training focused on developing a shared understanding of the objectives and methods of the PPA. They enhanced the technical capacities of the fieldworkers in facilitating participatory analysis using PRA, including communication skills and self-awareness (to link attitude towards the poor with possible internal prejudices which would need addressing, and to become conscious of the attributes such as communication and facilitation skills, and participatory approaches needed in a person using PRA). However, fundamental emphasis was placed on respecting poor people, their knowledge and their capabilities. Training stressed the primacy of working in partnership with local communities and providing them with opportunities to apply their knowledge, experience and capabilities in the process of analysing their realities their lives and experiences. Researchers were also exposed to specific issues of gender. Ethical issues in research were discussed with fieldworkers and collective agreement was reached that the following points would be followed when conducting PPA fieldwork to ensure it was an enabling, and not an exploitative, experience: informed consent would be obtained from all participants; undue time demands would not be placed on participants, especially women; and, unrealistic expectations would not be raised in participating communities. The training also included documentation of the PRA process, dealing with possible documentation problems (ie no electricity being available), instructions on daily documentation routines, taking notes while discussions are going on, sharing information within the team, and discussing and synthesising issues. The site selected for the pilot met the criteria of accessibility, representation, and availability of community. Union Council Splingi in District Mastung was selected in consultation with the provincial Additional Chief Secretary, Mr Ahmed Bakhsh Lehri. Splingi is approximately 60 kms from Quetta; it has 500 households and a population of around 3000. The main sources of livelihood for men are agriculture, livestock and labour. The main source of livelihood for women is livestock. The community has two major tribes Bangulzai and Kurd. The site is surrounded by mountains and has a small population of seasonal

33

nomads. Forests and rangeland are the key natural resources. The pilot testing was conducted during the summer. The PPA team was divided into three groups, each consisting of three men and two women members. The day was allocated for conducting the fieldwork and intense reflections were made during the evenings and at night. The facilitation process and the use of PRA tools were discussed, as were the role of the note taker, facilitation with women, and documenting the findings from the perspective of men and women, all of which were major features of the pilot testing. Emphasis was placed on understanding the importance of triangulation and how to achieve it. 1.5.3 Fieldwork and reporting Each team worked in three sites (one month per site), and two contrasting communities (sub-sites) within each. The teams were divided into female and male sub-teams that worked separately with women and men. Field teams were responsible for facilitating the joint analysis that is the basis of the PRA approach. They also took responsibility for the first step in recording it, the writing of activity reports and field notes. They then began the synthesis of this analysis in the form of a site report. After completion of the first phase of the PPA, the research teams met in Quetta for a review workshop. Issues, particularly challenges, in the fieldwork were discussed in detail and strategies to overcome them were defined. On completion of the fieldwork, a synthesis workshop was held in Quetta. Field researchers, IDSP staff, government representatives and the PPA Manager from Islamabad participated. The findings were synthesised into the main chapters of the provincial report, thus marking the beginning of the preparation of the Balochistan PPA report. 1.6 Issues and methods

The PPA is intended to contribute to improving the understanding of poverty. It aims to reach conclusions and recommendations for policy and actions starting from an analysis of poverty and its causes in selected research sites. All the regional PPAs used similar methods in their field sites, and an effort was made to investigate a common set of basic issues, adapting these to the specific characteristics of the province or area. 1.6.1 Basic research questions To bridge the gap between the grass-roots realities and the implications for policy makers, the PPA used a livelihoods framework. In each site, the analysis conducted with community members focussed on three basic research questions:

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Who are the poor and who are the better off? What assets do the poor have, and how do they construct their livelihoods? What have been the principal changes for the people over different periods of time, and what factors have influenced these processes? What resources, socio-economic and gender relationships, organisations and institutions are relevant to different groups among the poor? The findings from these three questions were used, in combination, to answer a fourth question: What scope is there for improvement in public policies, institutions and regulatory frameworks, and what other changes would increase the opportunities open to poor people? These were the basic guidelines that were followed in Balochistan. In addition, the field teams used a more detailed table of themes and issues in English and Urdu, referred to as the Fieldwork Framework. This is reproduced as Appendix 1. Many of the concepts and ideas used in the Fieldwork Framework were derived from international thinking about how poor people construct sustainable livelihoods, and how policies and institutions affect them. 1.6.2 Levels of analysis The Fieldwork Framework was used in two ways: First, it identified a set of topics relevant to the fieldwork site, or the community or population group that occupies the area, as a whole. Even though these issues concerned everyone, efforts were made to enable each of the important sub-groups in the population to contribute to the analysis. As far as possible, views were sought separately from young and old women, young and old men, children, minority groups, etc. In other words, it was not assumed that there was a single community view on the subject, even if opinions were sometimes expressed in this way. Second, the same or similar issues were analysed by each sub-group as they related to its own particular situation and experience. Reaching the very poor and enabling them to share in the analysis of their realities was an overarching aim of the PPA. Ensuring that this happened was less easy than handling obvious social differences, such as age and sex. However, standard tools were used to facilitate local poverty analysis. This provided pointers to the field teams on how to reach the poorest people in the area. 1.6.3 Methodological principles Participatory Reflection and Action (PRA) was the primary approach used for the field research in and around the selected PPA sites. PRA is recognised as
35

a robust methodology for generating policy insights from case-study evidence. It is based on two essential principles learning together and triangulation. Learning together refers to the approach of working in partnership with poor communities, providing them with opportunities to apply their knowledge, experience and capabilities to analyse their own realities. Triangulation is about taking advantage of multiple methods and sources of information to cross-check every interpretation and deepen understanding. Like every method, PRA is recognised to have weaknesses as well as strengths. In the PPA training in Balochistan, particular attention was given to sharpening the sensitivity of fieldworkers to the possible pitfalls they would encounter in the research sites. For example, the fieldworkers were encouraged to be conscious of the influence of local power inequalities on what is said and the degree to which others accept it. Special attention was given, in this context, to enhancing gender sensitisation of fieldworkers. Understanding the link between gender discrimination and vulnerability at a conceptual level and developing skills to assess gender sensitisation at a personal and community level were key aspects of the training. Fieldworkers were made aware, too, of the various ways in which the process of joint analysis is shaped, unavoidably and not necessarily in a negative way, by community perceptions of what the outsiders motives and interests are. The teams were assisted in developing their ability to record peoples testimony and summarise the analysis they make of their reality without substantial loss or distortion, bearing in mind the social context in which the interaction is taking place. 1.6.4 PRA tools As well as an approach informed by certain basic principles, PRA is a toolbox of useful techniques for facilitating joint analysis at the local level. PRA tools include a variety of ways of visualising or representing aspects of local reality, to promote a rich and revealing discussion among groups of local people. In contrast with the questionnaire approach used in censuses and surveys, the emphasis is placed on an open-ended enquiry in which local people take the lead. Box 1.1 gives some examples. A wide range of PRA techniques were used in the PPA in Balochistan. Small groups of participants engaged in discussions facilitated by a trained field team member who tried not to direct or over-influence the interaction that took place. Focus was given to the discussion by the drawing of a map, the preparation of a time-line, or the ranking or scoring of elements of the communitys natural or institutional environment. The tools were treated not as ends in themselves but as means of generating debate and analysis around a specific issue. The elements of consensus and

36

the disagreements, reasons and justifications that contributed to a group discussion formed the raw material for the activity and site reports. Box 1.1: The PRA toolbox

Social mapping, modelling and transects: enables a situational analysis of social services and structures. It helps analyse existing services and their performance/coverage and also identifies services that are needed but are not available. Natural resource mapping: enables an analysis of the state of natural resources and their use. The dependence of peoples livelihoods on natural resources and the resultant level of vulnerability can also be analysed through natural resource mapping. Well-being ranking: explores peoples perceptions and criteria of well-being, and enables them to use these to categorise individuals and households in their community. This method allows expression of peoples own definitions of poverty or ill-being and also enables them to identify the worse-off and the well-off in their communities. Network and Venn diagramming: examines institutional relationships, linkages and influences affecting local people, households, and community from within and outside their area. Institutions can include government service providers. The method also enables an assessment of the nature of the affect, i.e., whether it is positive or negative. Seasonal calendars, historical time lines, decades matrix, and daily activity patterns: enables a temporal analysis of, and the trends evident in relation to, selected variables. These methods can also enable an understanding of the interlinkage between variables. Preference ranking and matrix scoring: enables exploration of peoples perceptions, elicit their criteria and understand their choices regarding a wide range of subjects from resource allocation to choice of employment. Cause-effect, flow diagrams for systems, and impact diagrams: examines cause-effect relationships, inputs-outputs, and impact. Theatre and folksongs: enables deeper analysis and more effective dialogue with a large group on a range of issues. Source: Pretty et al (1995) 1.6.5 Triangulation The need to triangulate, or cross-check, every finding and its interpretation was emphasised in the training in Balochistan. Triangulation was important to distinguish genuine testimony from messages that are driven by ulterior

37

motives or reflect particular interests presented as community opinions. It could also help to uncover deeper social processes, or additional layers of reality, that are initially obscured by the partial testimony of different groups of participants. Considerable emphasis was placed, therefore, on triangulation of findings. Triangulation was done in two main ways. First, different perspectives on an issue were given space for expression by enabling different groups of the community to analyse the same issue. This was reflected in the preparation of several activity reports dealing with each major issue. Second, in the preparation of site reports and in the provincial synthesis, process information and interpretations were checked against, and enriched by, evidence from fieldworkers observations, testimony of key informants and evidence from other relevant studies and data sources. As a secondary support method, some basic quantitative data on the PPA sites were generated using a specially-designed questionnaire. As well as permitting some limited triangulation, this has enabled the PRA-based site studies to be located statistically within the wider universe of the province. In this sense, what the case studies represent in terms of the range of circumstances in Balochistan can be confirmed independently of the selection process described below. 1.7 Selection of sites for the PPA

In the Pakistan PPA, field sites were selected purposively, to provide indepth case studies that illuminate the particular problem that was being investigated, namely poverty and the livelihoods of the poor. This is different from the case of a sample survey, where the principle of random selection is used to generate statistically representative results. However, as with surveys, it is important that the criteria of selection are clear and that their application is reasonably consistent and well recorded. Efforts were made to ensure that this was the case. The number of sites for each province and area was fixed in advance on the basis of the population of the province and other budget and resource constraints. A tiered approach to the selection of study sites was then used, based on some simple criteria that could be applied across the whole country. The selection process involved three steps, at the province, district and union council levels. At each level a facilitated and recorded brainstorming was organised with the participation of major stakeholders and key informants, including representatives at the district and union council levels, government officials, local NGOs, and citizens. At the province level, nine districts reflecting the main agro-ecological zones, and the diverse ethnic, geographical and economic contexts, were selected. A matrix was used to identify the agro-ecological zones and the districts having nomadic, tribal, arid, desert and coastal features (Table 1.1).

38

Table 1.1:

Selected Balochistan PPA districts and criteria Criteria

Border proximity Coastal Nomad Desert Barani Urban Tribal Arid Agri
39

District
Gawadar Awaran Kharan Kachi Killa Abdullah Killa Saifullah Loralai Quetta Panjgur

At the district level, well-being ranking was used as an analytical tool in the identification of the poorest union council within each selected district. Key officials, elected representatives and nazims, civil society representatives, and lawyers, doctors, shopkeepers and students were invited to participate in the process of selecting the PPA union council in each district. The selection meetings began with an introduction of the purpose and design of the PPA to the participants. Criteria to assess poverty were then developed by the participants, and each union council ranked against the set criteria in order to determine the poorest. With the exception of Awaran, the district headquarters and its surrounding union councils were left out of the selection criteria. For the purposes of the PPA, these union councils are referred to as sites. In Kharan and Killa Saifullah, two union councils were selected. Since union councils are typically too large for PRA exercises, and in order to inject a comparative element into the research, a further selection was undertaken. Through consultative meetings with administrations, civil society and local people held at the union council level, two contrasting sub-sites were selected. One was identified as the poorest village, population centre or area of scattered settlement; and the other as a control group that is, as being considered clearly better-off. In selecting the sub-sites, attention was given to local variations in settlement patterns, and the practicalities of travel within the site. A range of 100-300 households was maintained for demarcating the subsite, keeping in view the maximum size of community where PRA methods can be effectively applied. In rural areas, the sub-sites were often one village. The site selection teams then travelled to the sub-sites where they met local people, explained the purpose of the PPA and asked for local consent to

conduct it in their area. The team then went on to find a suitable place for the field teams accommodation in the area with the union council administration. In most cases, the teams were able to work effectively in the selected union councils. However, in one district, Loralai, one sub-site had to be changed because the local people refused to take part in the PPA and did not allow access to the researchers; they demanded financial or in-kind support in return for their participation. The team visited other villages in the union council but did not find enough households since most of the people had migrated to Punjab prior to winter. In consultation with the local administration the team then selected another union council near Musa Khel City to complete the research for Loralai district. Table 1.2: District Selected PPA Union Councils and sub-sites in Balochistan Sub-site B Union Council Sub-site A (better-off) (poorest)
Kallag Teer Taij Lad Ghast Mehram Killa Abdullah Batozai Toesar, Saddar Haji Abdul Qudoos Dasht Shahbaz Kallag Bazdad Kalag Awal Hashim Jurang China Baratkhel Nikhal Adinzai Pushtoon Darah Joisar Kalmat Kahn Zeelag Mashriqi Zawag Khora Chalgari Arambi Nalai Sar Nawai Bazaar Qaisar Colony Katagari

Gawadar Awaran Kharan Kachi Killa Abdullah Killa Saifullah Loralai Quetta Panjgur

During much of the site selection process, a key challenge was the fact that the district administration had unilaterally chosen a union council in which to conduct the PPA. The teams had to spend much time explaining the PPA, its aims and the reasons for a more inclusive site selection process. This was followed by a consultative process to select a site or sub-site. However, once the selection was made, in most places the administration cautioned the teams about the site, saying that it was much too far away, that it had security problems, or that living conditions in the area were inadequate, and so on. The administration was extremely helpful in organising the district and union council meetings for site/sub-site selection, and in providing general support throughout the process. In some cases, the findings of the PPA were of great help to the district administration. For example, in Awaran a village had many cases of polio. Information regarding this prompted the administration to take corrective action and to vaccinate the villagers.

1.8

Experiences in the field

For the most part, the research went smoothly in Balochistan. Some of the problems encountered included four researchers dropping-out at various stages of the process. One of the female researchers dropped out at the end of the training; another researcher, who participated in the pilot testing, replaced her. One of the male researchers dropped out after completing the
40

research in one district; he was replaced by another trained researcher. One female researcher from government dropped out after completing research in one district due to personal reasons; she was replaced by a trained researcher from an NGO. Another female researcher dropped out due to examination commitments. Since no other woman was available, a PPA field team member from NWFP was requested to work in the Pushto speaking sites. The teams had to deal with many difficulties during the research process. One problem was to find people who had the time and willingness to participate in the joint analysis exercises. Involving women in the process was even more difficult; in some cases the female researchers were initially unable to talk to them. The general perception of NGOs was a problem as most people were hesitant to get involved as they were suspicious of the researchers motives. In one of the districts (Kachi) the law and order situation was particularly bad and villagers asked the research team to live outside the village since they could not guarantee their safety. In one area, rumours were spread about the research team. It was said that the field team had been sent by the government to evaluate peoples income so that taxes could be levied upon them. The villagers, quite naturally, did not co-operate with the team, and a social boycott was imposed in Kharan. The support team visited the area and held detailed discussions with the local administration and the community. It was revealed that the real issue was quite different from the stated objection. The village had two rival tribes; one of the tribes was from a low caste community and the other was an influential tribe. The area where the team was working was of the low caste community. After detailed discussions the community elders agreed to extend their support. The support team visited the other tribe as well and after discussions that part of the village was also included in the research. This ultimately helped with triangulation, identifying and understanding the power relationships and tribal conflicts within the community. The team working in Loralai had to travel two to three hours daily to reach the village as the villagers refused to give them any living space. They were living in a nearby police station about 5 km from the village. The travelling was tiring which had repercussions on the quality of the report.

41

CHAPTER TWO WHAT DO WE ALREADY KNOW?

2.1 Introduction

Before going on to look at the findings of the Pakistan PPA in the subsequent chapters, in this section, trends in poverty taken from the most recent household data are presented. This is followed by a description of each of the sites in Balochistan where the PPA fieldwork case studies were undertaken. In the final part, a statistical comparison of the selected sites is made using data collected during the fieldwork.

2.2

Poverty in Pakistan

Although there is now a wide literature on poverty in Pakistan there are still many gaps in our understanding.1 First, Pakistan is a large and diverse country and generalisations are difficult. The way out of poverty for an unemployed factory worker in Karachi, a landless labourer in the Indus valley, or a livestock farmer in remote rural Balochistan are very different. Second, much of the poverty research in Pakistan has been focussed on measuring trends in the level of poverty over time and between geographic regions. Whilst it is important to measure changes in standards of living, many important aspects of poverty are under-researched. For example, little is known on the way changes in fiscal policy and utility pricing have impacted on the poor. Moreover, almost no work has been undertaken on how the poor themselves experience poverty and what their priorities are for improved policies and programmes. It is this latter gap that the PPA aims to address. Before moving on to look at the findings of the PPA in Balochistan over the following chapters, some of the findings from the quantitative data on poverty are presented in the following sections. Two different types of data are presented: poverty line data that show levels and trends in standards of living; and, social indicators that indicate the overall level of human development in Pakistan. 2.3 Standards of living in Pakistan

A widespread perception in Pakistan is that poverty levels in both urban and rural areas have been rising steadily in recent years. However, a review of recent poverty studies indicates that the picture may be more complicated than that. Over the 1980s, there is evidence that poverty levels in Pakistan fell. The World Banks Poverty Assessment (World Bank, 1995) indicates that the national head count index (the percentage below the poverty line) fell from 46 per cent in 1984-85 to 37 per cent in 1987-88 and then to 34 per cent in 1990-91. However, the fall in rural areas was smaller than in urban areas. The authors of the World Bank study conclude that, compared to other developing countries, Pakistans progress in reducing poverty during this decade, with the exception of East Asia, was as good as any developing region.
1

For wide-ranging reviews of the poverty literature in Pakistan see: Banuri et al (eds) (1997), Gazdar (1998), Zaidi (1999a and 1999b) and Rimmer (2000). 42

This trend did not continue into the 1990s. The Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) estimate that during the 1990s poverty levelled off and at the end of the decade started to rise (GoP, 2001). A slightly different picture is presented in the recent World Bank Poverty Assessment that covers the 1990s (World Bank, 2002). They indicate that poverty levels fell during the middle of the decade but by the end of the decade were almost the same as the beginning. Their conclusion is that poverty levels remained unchanged throughout the decade. In sum, over the 1990s the data indicates that the success that Pakistan enjoyed during the 1980s was not continued into the 1990s. Although poverty levels did not increase dramatically over the decade, they levelled off, or may have even begun to rise. At the end of the decade, a third of the countrys population remained under the poverty line (see Figure 2.1).
Figure 2.1: Trend in the headcount (percentage below the poverty line)
50 45 40 35 percentage 30 25 20 15 10 5 0
5 8 1 /9 3 /9 4 /9 7 19 96 19 -8 -8 -9 84 87 90 98 92 93 /9 9

19

19

year FBS World Bank

Regarding standards of living in Balochistan, the FBS data indicate that over the 1990s the province was one of the poorest areas of Pakistan. For example, in 1992-93, 1993-94, and 1996-97, of the four provinces, Balochistan had the second highest percentage below the poverty line. However it has been difficult to estimate trends in poverty in Balochistan as reliable data is not available. This is because Balochistan occupies a vast area, but the density of population is very low and it makes up only 5 per cent of Pakistans population. It is therefore difficult for the survey to be representative as the degree of variation among different communities is very high.

19

19

19

43

Turning to the characteristics of the poor, the FBS study found a number of characteristics to be closely associated with poverty: A typical poor household is large and includes many children (dependency ratios in poor households are high); Education is the most significant factor that distinguishes the poor from the non-poor (the percentage of literate household heads in non-poor households is 52 per cent compared with 27 per cent in poor households); Poor households often depend on precarious jobs, often as day labourers in agriculture, construction, trade and transport; and, Poverty status in agriculture is closely related to land holding per capita (the non-poor own 0.84 acres of cultivable land per capita whilst the poor own 0.27 acres per capita).

2.4

Key social indicators

In addition to the persistence of a high rate of poverty, Pakistan suffers from an additional problem, namely a relatively low level of human development. Improvements in social indicators over the last decade have been slow, despite the implementation of the Social Action Programme. In addition, the levels of key indicators remain poor when compared to comparable countries. For example, looking at other South Asian countries, Pakistan has the highest rate of infant and under-five mortality, the highest rate of female illiteracy, and the lowest percentage of girls enrolled in school (Table 2.1). Table 2.1: Regional comparison of human development indicators
% of 11-15 year old children enrolled in school Adult illiteracy 1999/2000 Mortality rate per 1000 1998/99

Bangladesh India Pakistan

Sri Lanka Source: World Bank (2002)

Male 62 73 63 .

Female 66 58 41 .

Male 48 32 42 6

Female 70 55 73 11

Infant 73 70 83 15

Under 5 96 83 116 19

2.5

An introduction to the field sites

The following section provides brief descriptions of the PPA field sites in the Balochistan. Each of the nine locations has a detailed table summarising various features and characteristics of the two sub-sites within each field site.

44

District KHARAN: Union Council LAD GHAST is located over 400 km from the district headquarters, 100 km of which is through a desert with few signed tracks. Kharan is one of the largest districts of Pakistan and situated close to the Iranian border and is on the global route for the trade in narcotics. The population of Kalag are mainly seasonal migrants from a nearby village; they migrate to Kharan when the date-picking season starts. An interesting feature is that the primary school in this village also moves as the population migrates.
Sub-site
Relative well being status Population (approx) Basic infrastructure Poorer 1600 223 households Primary school (boys) Dispensary

Kalag

Mashriqi Zawag
Better-off

Social groups

Geographical features Natural resources

Key agricultural systems Livelihoods (men)

Livelihoods (women) Unusual characteristics

Reki Mulla Zai Mohd Hassani Rind Strong tribal identity exists Deserts Plains Forest Water Land Wild bushes Barani Irrigated Wells Labouring Agriculture Livestock Pickling dates Driving Shop keeping Government services Working in forest Overseas labouring Embroidery Close to border Most of population are nomads

High school (boys) Primary school (girls) Water supply Electricity Hospital Reki Mulla Zai Mohd Hassani Rind Strong tribal identity exists Deserts Plains Forest Water Land Wild bushes Barani Irrigated Wells Labouring Agriculture Livestock Pickling dates Driving Shop keeping Government services Working in forest Overseas labouring Embroidery Close to border Most of population are nomads

45

District AWARAN: Union Council TEER TAIJ is located very near the district headquarters, towards the south-east of Quetta.
Sub-site
Relative well being status Population (approx) Basic infrastructure

Bazdad
Poorer 1200 150 households Drinking water supply scheme Basic Heath Unit (BHU) Middle school (boys) Bizenjo Badoo Sungar Mountainous and plain Barani Agriculture Livestock Mat making (peesh) Labouring Embroidery Mat making (peesh) Forests Rangelands Mountains Peesh bushes

Kahn Zeelag
Better-off 2400 300 households Hand pumps Shingle road Middle school (boys) Telephone. Mirwari Langove Darzada Mountainous and plain Barani Kareze Agriculture Livestock Drivers Shopkeepers Labouring Embroidery Livestock Forests Land Water Rangelands Mountains Peesh bushes

Social groups

Geographical features Key agricultural systems Livelihoods (men)

Livelihoods (women) Natural resources

Unusual characteristics

46

District LORALAI: Union Councils TOI SAR & SADDAR BAZAAR are located to the north-east of Quetta. Two union councils were involved in the PPA due to site selection difficulties. The poorest sub-site was in Union Council Toe Sar, and the better-off sub-site in Union Council Saddar Bazaar.
Sub-site
Relative well being status Population (approx) Basic infrastructure Poorer 1010 143 households Levies station Shingle road Primary school (boys)

Nikhal

Nawai Bazaar
Better-off 1800 114 households Electricity Water Supply Sewerage system District hospital Veterinary facility Boys and girls schools Boys Inter College Police station / Levies station Bank Kudazai, Muhmanzai, Essot, Hasan Khail, Khadozai, Hilalzai, Pash, Mirdadzai, Laharzai, Bail Khail, Salmazai, Nahozai, Buzdar, Jafar, Gharsheen Mountainous, plains, sandy soil, fertile land, natural water channels Rainfed / tubewells for irrigation Tractors / buffaloes for cultivation

Social groups

Geographical features Key agricultural systems / crops

Livelihoods (men)

Livelihoods (women)

Natural resources

Unusual characteristics

Kudazai, Muhmanzai, Essot, Hasan Khail, Khadozai, Hilalzai, Pash, Mirdadzai, Laharzai, Bail Khail, Salmazai, Nahozai, Buzdar, Jafar, Gharsheen Mountainous, plains, sandy soil, fertile land, natural water channels Maize, wheat, apple, pomegranite Rainfed / tubewells for irrigation Tractors / buffaloes for cultivation Livestock Agriculture Wage labour Selling forest wood Transportation Government jobs Selling sheep wool Migration to Punjab / Sindh Overseas migration Handicrafts Mat making Livestock Land cultivation Selling sheep wool Brick baking / cotton picking in Punjab Fertile land Janglat Precious stones Salt / coal mines Eagles Streams / snow / rain Tribal disputes cause people to leave village High incidence of migration

Business Shopkeeping Selling sheep wool Migration to Punjab / Sindh Overseas migration Carpet making Selling eagles Stone mason Midwife Government jobs Non-government jobs Tailoring Selling sheep wool Brick baking / cotton picking in Punjab Fertile land Janglat Precious stones Salt / coal mines Eagles Streams / snow / rain Tribal disputes cause people to leave village High incidence of migration

47

District KACHI: Union Council MEHRAM is located south of Quetta. Although a major development project in Balochistan is the Kachi Canal, it does not actually pass through the district. The land was once fertile but is now barren due to lack of rain. The poorest sub-site comprised three adjacent villages Awal Hashim, Lakhmir Waris and Lakhmir Mastoi. The better-off sub-site included four villages Khora Chalgari, Miwah, Klas and Takari. (The table below shows combined features of all villages)
Sub-site
Relative well being status Population (approx) Basic infrastructure Poorest

Awal Hashim

Khora Chalgari
Better-off

Social groups Geographical features Key agricultural systems / crops Livelihoods (men)

942 224 households (across both sub-sites) Primary school (boys) Primary school (boys) Primary School (girls) Primary School (girls) Civil Dispensary Civil Dispensary Defunct water tanks Defunct water tanks Water reservoirs Water reservoirs Defunct orphan house Defunct orphan house Jamot, Mugheri, Abro, Chalgari, Jamot, Mugheri, Abro, Chalgari, Mastoi, Soomro and Lehri Mastoi, Soomro and Lehri Plain Plain Barani Agriculture Livestock Shop keeping Wage labour Embroidery Poultry rearing Agriculture Forests Rainwater Herbs Migration to other areas (especially Sindh) is common during shortages of drinking water Barani Agriculture Livestock Shop keeping Wage labour Embroidery Poultry rearing Agriculture Forests Rainwater Herbs Migration to other areas (especially Sindh) is common during shortages of drinking water

Livelihoods (women) Natural resources

Unusual characteristics

48

District PANJGUR: Union Council DASHT SHAHBAZ is located in the south of Balochistan. The sites are mountainous and perennial water is used in some places for irrigation, but most of the land is dependent on rain.
Sub-site
Relative well being status Population (approx) Number of Households Basic infrastructure Poorest 812 116 households 116 Shingle road BHU High school (boys)

Joisar

Khora Chalgari
Better-off 809 107 households 107 Shingle road BHU High school (boys) Water supply scheme Primary school (girls) Durazai Kashani Mengal Raisi Ghulam Plain Mountainous Barani Tube-well Agriculture Livestock Government employment Labouring in Dubai Embroidery Livestock Range lands Forests Land Acute problems with water purity Hepatitis B is common

Social groups

Durazai Kashani Ghulam

Geographical features Key agriculture system Livelihoods (men)

Mountainous and valleys Barani Perennial Mat making from peesh Farming Livestock Labouring Mat making Embroidery Range lands Spring water Peesh bushes Acute problems with water purity Hepatitis B is common

Livelihoods (women) Natural resources

Unusual Characteristics

49

District KILLA ABDULLAH: Union Council KILLA ABDULLAH is situated to the north-west of Quetta. The district shares a border with Afghanistan and Chaman, an important town in the area, is on the main route to Afghanistan.
Sub-site
Relative well being status Population (approx) Basic infrastructure Poorest 1536 118 households Primary school (boys) Electricity Telephone Defunct water supply scheme Mosque Shingle road.

Jurang
Better-off

Arambi
1447 116 households Middle school (boys) Primary school (boys) Primary school (girls) Madrasa (religious institute for boys) BHU Electricity Defunct VHF Mosque Shingle road Achakzai (main tribe) Kakozai, Hameedzai, and Ghabizai (sub-tribes) Mountainous and valleys Tubewells Kareez Barani Irrigated Agriculture Livestock Hotel labouring Hand carts Coal mine labouring Shop keeping Handicrafts Making cotton mattresses Tailoring Rearing poultry Rearing sheep Poor women work to earn money Forest Water Land Wild bushes.

Social groups

Geographical features Key agricultural systems / crops

Achakzai (main tribe) Kakozai, Hameedzai, and Ghabizai (sub-tribes) Mountainous and valleys Tubewells Barani Irrigated Agriculture Livestock Hotel labouring Hand carts Coal mine labouring Shop keeping Handicrafts Making cotton mattresses Tailoring Poultry rearing and sell eggs Poor women work to earn money Few women also have shops in their houses Forest Water Land Wild bushes. Smoking by young women and children Snuff used by old women Use of abusive language in general conversation

Livelihoods (men)

Livelihoods (women)

Natural resources

Unusual characteristics

50

District GAWADAR: Union Council KALLAG is a large union council and the two sub-sites were over 100 km from each other. District Gawadar forms most of Pakistans coastline. Many people have dual nationality from Pakistan and Muscat. In the sub-site of Kalmat the water resource situation is very poor; the site does not have water and a 20-litre water can costs Rs.10.
Sub-site
Relative well being status Population (approx) Basic infrastructure Poorest 700 100 households Primary school (boys) Drinking water tank Middle school (girls) Zikri Baloch Plains Mountainous Barani Agriculture Wood selling Fishing Livestock Embroidery

Kallag
Better-off

Kalmat
928 106 households BHU Primary school - mainly remains closed No water Zikri (major group) Singur (minority group) Kalmati (minority group) Sea Plains Land Barani Fishing Prawns Handicrafts Making cotton mattresses Tailoring Rearing chicken Mangroves Sea Rangeland Dual nationality

Social groups

Geographical features Key agricultural systems / crops Livelihoods (men) Livelihoods (women)

Natural resources

Unusual characteristics

Forests Land Spring Dual nationality

51

District KILLA SAIFULLAH: Union Council BATOZAI is remarkable in that women were not generally in purdah, which is rare in traditional Pushtoon societies. Fieldworkers observed that there was no partition within households and the whole family lived in one room.
Sub-site
Relative well being status Population (approx) Basic infrastructure

China Barat Khail

Poorest 893 110 households Masjid Maktab School for boys Primary school (boys) Mosque Levies police station Dispensary Veterinary centre Shingle road Musazai, Khuachakzai, Barakzai, Mazghaparzai and Pahlawanzai Plains Mountains Barani Spring water Better-off

Nali Sar
764 115 households Primary school (boys) BHU with accommodation for staff Mosque Hand pump Water supply 3 rainwater reservoirs Mankazai, Baizai, Surki Alizai and Anizai Mountains Plains Sandy soil Barani Newly constructed dam which is not yet working due to drought Tubewell owned by outsiders Agriculture Livestock Daily wages and labouring in coal mines (According to female analysts, men are also begging due to severe drought, no opportunity of labouring work and no other skills) Handicraft (sewing of cloths and embroidery) Labouring in fields Agriculture Livestock Fuel wood collection In the past women made local carpets Forests Barren land Small numbers of livestock Range land Wildlife No boundary system the whole family lives in one room No purdah system

Social groups

Geographical features Key agricultural systems / crops

Livelihoods (men)

Agriculture Livestock Daily wage labour Driving

Livelihoods (women)

Handicrafts (sewing of cloths and embroidery) Agriculture Livestock Fuel wood collection In the past women made local carpets Forests Barren land Small numbers of livestock Range land Wildlife Young women and small children smoke Old women use snuff and smoke High incidence of hepatitis B and cancer (during the fieldwork 3 men, 2 children and a woman died

Natural resources

Unusual characteristics

52

QUETTA: Union Council HAJI ABDUL QUDOOS is located in the poorest area of south Quetta. Quetta is the provincial capital of Balochistan. Most of the population of the area are Afghan immigrants; the area is prone to drugs and lawlessness.
Sub-site
Relative well being status Population (approx) Basic infrastructure

Pushtoon Darah
Poorest

Qaisar Colony
Better-off

Social groups Geographical features Key agricultural systems / crops Livelihoods (men)

3398 1100 households (across both sub-sites) Primary school (boys) Primary school (boys) Electricity Electricity Gas Gas Roads Roads Drinking water supply Drinking water supply Private schools Private schools Poor drainage system Poor drainage system Khilji, Kakar, Tareen, Achakzai, Khilji, Kakar, Tareen, Achakzai, Noorzai and Suleman Khail Noorzai and Suleman Khail Plain and mountains Plain and mountains None Wage labouring Hand cart labouring Donkey cart labouring Government and private jobs Small scale business Overseas labouring Embroidery Labouring in other peoples houses Underground water Mountains Air High numbers of Afghan refugees None Wage labouring Hand cart labouring Donkey cart labouring Government and private jobs Small scale business Overseas labouring Embroidery Labouring in other peoples houses Underground water Mountains Air High numbers of Afghan refugees

Livelihoods (women)

Natural resources

Unusual characteristics

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2.6

Statistical profile of the PPA sites in Balochistan

As noted earlier, the PPA teams collected a small amount of statistical information in each PPA site in order that a comparison could be made between the PPA sites, and between the sites and the province and country as a whole. An analysis of the FBSs Pakistan Integrated Household Survey data indicated a number of variables that were strongly correlated with consumption poverty. A number of these variables were selected and each household involved in the PPA fieldwork in each selected PPA community was enumerated. These variables included: literacy of the household head; household size; land per capita (rural only); rooms per capita; households without a flush toilet (rural only); households with a gas connection (urban only); households with a telephone connection (urban only); households with a buffalo (rural only); and, households receiving a remittance (urban only). Even though these variables show a significant correlation with consumption levels, and indirectly with poverty, when taken alone they will always be poor predictors of poverty. An alternative solution is to take into consideration all these variables together so that their significance can increase because of their positive interaction. Using a regression model, the variables are used together in order to predict the percentage of the population who are poor. Looking at column 1 of Table 2.2 it can be seen that combining the variables in this way predicts that the site with the highest level of poverty is in Killa Abdullah district. A number of conclusions can be drawn from Table 2.2 on the selected sites: 1. The values of almost all the variables in every site are poorer than the average values for Balochistan and Pakistan as a whole. This confirms that the site selection procedure was generally successful in identifying poorer areas. There are some exceptions to this. For example, with regard to urban sites, the percentage of households receiving a remittance in the Quetta site (14.7 per cent) is much higher than for urban Balochistan (1.33 per cent) and for urban Pakistan as a whole (4.8 per cent). The level of literacy of the household head in the Quetta site is also relatively high (50 per cent) compared with urban Balochistan (37.74). However, it is slightly lower than the level for urban Quetta as a whole (55.26 per cent). 2. Although all the sites were poor, comparing them with each other, there was a large variation between the poorest (the site in Killa Abdullah, rural) and the better-off (the sites in Quetta and Loralai district). The predicted percentage below the poverty line in the poorest site (50.2 per cent in Killa Abdullah) is nearly double that of the richest site (26.3 per cent in Quetta). 3. Despite the fact that acres of land per capita in rural Balochistan as a whole is relatively high (0.93 acres) compared to rural Pakistan as a whole (0.63 acres), landholdings in the PPA sites were generally very

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low. The exception was the site in Kachi district where land per capita was 2.26 acres.

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Table 2.2:
Household size Households receiving remittances Households without flush toilet Acres of land per person Households with at least 1 buffalo

Statistical profile of selected PPA sites in Balochistan province

Balochistan sites

Poverty ranking

Literacy of household head

(districts) (urban only) % % % (rural only) (rural only) (rural only)

Rooms in house per capita (urban only) %

Estimated percentage below the poverty line

Households with gas or telephone connection

(rank 1 = poorest) G 6.4 7.3 7.5 13.2 7.6 8.9 8.9 8 8.7 7.5 (all) 6.8 (all) 0.33 (all) 4.8 (urban) 0.39 (all) 1.33 (urban) 0.30 14.7 0.93 (rural) 78 (rural) 1.62 (rural) 0.63 (rural) 1.62 (r) 28 (r) 0.27 0.24 0.20 0.36 96.8 92.1 100 85.6 0.57 0.72 2.26 0.65 0.22 99.6 0.19 0 0 0 0.48 0 0.22 0.20 0.23 98.7 99.5 100 0.11 0.14 0.23 0 0 0 T

30.9 (7) 34.7 (3=) 33.6 (5)

14 24 32

50.2 (1)

Rural Gawadar Panjgur Killa Saifullah Killa Abdullah Kharan Awaran Kachi Loralai Urban Quetta

33.5 (6) 34.7 (3=) 35.2 (2) 27.9 (8)

22 14 8 37

26.3 (9)

50

37.74 (all)

Balochistan (from PIHS) Pakistan (from PIHS)

45 (all)

86.5 (u) 42.6 (u) 60.4 (u)

25.4 (u) 33.14 (u) 33.2 (u)

NB THE STATISTICS REFER TO THE 9 SITES AND NOT TO THE DISTRICTS AS A WHOLE.

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CHAPTER THREE PERCEPTIONS OF POVERTY AND RIGHTS

3.1 Introduction

An understanding of the situation of poor people needs to draw on many different sources and kinds of knowledge. But if it is to avoid mistakes based on ignorance or prejudice, the analysis of poverty needs to be firmly based on how poor people themselves see their own condition, how they explain its causes and what their priorities are. It is necessary to build up an understanding of what poverty is and what needs to be done to address it in a stepwise fashion, starting from the most immediate experiences reported by poor people themselves. This chapter provides a starting point by examining the criteria used by people in the different PPA sites in Balochistan to categorise each other, their perceptions of the level of poverty in Balochistan, the various dimensions of their poverty, and their perceptions of their rights and entitlements. The PPA process focussed especially on engaging the perceptions of the most marginalised in the participating communities, including women, ethnic and religious minorities, and the socio-economically deprived.

3.2

Perceptions of poverty and well-being

Across the PPA sub-sites of Balochistan, analysts perceived both poverty and well-being as multidimensional and dynamic phenomena. Analysts did not define poverty simply as a lack of access to financial or material possessions, but incorporated various other dimensions of human (eg lack of education, ill health), social (eg lack of respect, no political influence, discrimination), and natural capital (eg lack of access to land). While different categories of analysts in terms of gender, age, tribe/caste and religion placed different emphasis on different aspects of poverty, there were also common criteria used across the Balochistan sub-sites. There was also recognition of the fact that the poverty and well-being of individuals, households and communities are not static but respond to various trends, shocks and seasonal variations (see Chapter Five). It was also understood that poverty is not evenly distributed throughout society, but that well-being depends on gender, age, tribe/caste, religion, family structure and local conditions. The terms used in Balochistan to describe the poor include gharib (poor), miskin (passive and submissive), khwar (one who get no returns in spite of hard work), bebas (powerless), bechara (with no social support or standings), and bhooka (hungry). These terms clearly indicate that poverty comprises lack of resources, lack of support, lack of dignity and lack of power.

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3.2.1 The poor and the very poor Although there were some differences between sites, the very poor were generally perceived to be widows; the landless; households with no or few male children; households without an income earner, or with a disabled income earner; those without sufficient clothes; and those who cannot afford medical treatment or fuel for the winter. The very poor often did not eat even a single meal a day. In several sites, analysts explained how the poor mix chillies with water to eat so that they do not feel hungry. In Pushtoon areas, those who did not have landi (a local dried meat) were considered very poor. In the urban sub-sites of Quetta, beggars, drug addicts and those whose children were labouring were considered to be very poor. In many cases the dividing line between very poor and poor was thin some criteria overlapped although small differences were visible. Those without land for cultivation; households with just one income earner but many dependants; victims of theft; the unemployed, or those with an education but without employment, were all considered to be poor. Other indicators of being poor included being able to afford only minor medical expenses; working for daily wages; being involved in tribal disputes; not having enough food, clothes or shoes; and owning no livestock. The poor were also perceived as those with no power, influence in decision-making processes or access to justice. The poor and the poorest lacked access to basic services such as health and education. Those who could not pay the bride price to get married were also considered poor. Demonstrating the contextual nature of perceptions of poverty, analysts in the urban sub-sites of Quetta explained that those without televisions or gas connections were poor. In Loralai, even those with land were considered poor if they did not have access to irrigation or a tractor. One analyst explained that even though he had 40 acres of land, he could not cultivate it because the lack of irrigation facilities meant he was dependant on rainwater for his crops to grow it had not rained for four years in Loralai. 3.2.2 The better-off and the well-off In most sites, the number of people or households perceived to be well-off was small, and in some sub-sites analysts explained that there were no people who could be categorised as well-off using their locally defined criteria. In the rural sub-sites of Balochistan, analysts generally described the characteristics of the better-off as including having land, water and a tractor for cultivation, owning livestock, having a car, being able to afford the education of male children or being able to afford private education, having access to healthcare services, being educated and having a business. The well-off were also perceived to have power and influence in local decisionmaking institutions and processes.

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Table 3.1 shows the results of a well-being ranking exercise by poor analysts in the urban sub-site of Pushtoon Darah, Quetta. It shows the perceived characteristics of different well-being categories. Table 3.1: Well-being ranking in Pushtoon Darah, Quetta Very poor Poor Better-off Well-off
Blind One earning person in household Many children but limited income Wage labourer Hawker No Electricity No Gas No money to pay electricity bills One room house Jobless Educated jobless No house Small shop Household has 2-3 government workers One family member works in foreign country Has property Good business Motor Vehicle Well maintained house Children study in private schools Good education Has good medical treatment facility

Mad

Able to pay electricity bill Own house Small job Some skill Works as a labour in a shop Children study in government school

Disabled Sick In severe debt Drug Addict Beggar

3.3

The dimensions of poverty

As can be seen from the perceptions of indicators of poverty and well-being described above, PPA participants included more than economic or material dimensions of poverty in their analysis. 3.3.1 Economic dimension Poor people in Balochistan are generally short of financial resources and economic conditions were perceived to have deteriorated dramatically. The level of household income for poor people has a directly proportional relationship with the level of access to food, health and education facilities, and good clothing. A lack of income decreases opportunities for investments in human capital (education and healthcare) and reduces the likelihood of food security, especially in urban areas or areas affected by drought. We work from morning to evening as daily wage labourers and earn Rs.80 per day and hardly meet the expenses for wheat, sugar, and tea; if any family member gets sick then we have to borrow money. (A male analyst, Awaran District) Maybe God didnt like us even eating dates. We used to have one meal a day but now even that is not available. It is the poor who will always suffer and they are dying with their sheep and cattle. (A male analyst, Awaran)
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The lack of financial respources also impacts on the workload of women in some Balochistan PPA sites and they have become increasingly involved in income-earning (ie through embroidery) this has increased the burden upon them. It also increases the likelihood of obtaining loans and credit from informal sources, which may lead to, or perpetuate, exploitative relationships that keep people in poverty. In Gawadar, one man explained how those who obtain credit often end up in a never-ending cycle of debt that is difficult to escape from. Some people always remain poor because they have received credit from the Seth and it is very difficult for them to clear the loan. Whatever fish they catch they are obliged to give to the Seth. If the rate for the fish is Rs. 400 in the market, the Seth only gives them Rs. 60 70. Fishermen always take credit from the Seth and he fixes the repayment rate as he pleases. The credit is cleared at the end of the season, and the fishermen do not ask the actual rate of the loans. 3.3.2 Political dimension: lack of voice and powerlessness Poverty and vulnerability are intimately tied in with the lack of power to make and influence decisions at household, community and policy making levels. Powerlessness is a fundamental experience of the poor in all spheres of their social, cultural and economic life. The unique tribal features and troubled political history of Balochistan have deep social influences on the lives of ordinary people in the province. The political dimensions of poverty form some of the most widely expressed perceptions on poverty. The reality of these perceptions is the state of powerlessness. I am 81 years old. I have not seen anyone apart from the rich improving their condition. Only the rich can have power and influence. Throughout my life I have seen poor people getting worse because they have no power. Sardar and the government are the same and they are never going to allow poor people to have any power. (A poor male analyst, Kharan District) This dimension of poverty has wide repercussions upon the ability of the poor to access formal structures and institutions in the areas of health, education, justice, and credit. Poor people have no access to government institutions although a majority of these institutions are built for the poor. The rich have monopolised these institutions. (A poor analyst, Loralai District) A group of male analysts in Awaran stated that those who cannot be involved in any decision-making, have no access to institutions, and who no one likes to listen to, are considered poor. They explained that no one cares about

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these people. The influential and elite use them for their own interests they are the vote bank of the elite. At the household level, gender inequities and lack of womens participation in decision-making are the most conspicuous elements of vulnerability. Female analysts explained in great detail the effects of powerlessness on their body and reproduction choices, social status and mobility. 3.3.3 Cultural dimension: gender and caste Key contributing factors to the poverty of the most marginalised and deprived are debilitating cultural influences and practices that exclude people on the basis of gender, ethnicity, caste or religion. Box 3.1: Gender in a tribal society Razia is an 18-year-old girl living in Kachi. She got married two years ago and now has a young son. She originally comes from Karachi. This is her story: I was in school in Karachi but my parents married me off. An educated person can be married by her own wish, but we are unable to do so because we live in a strict Baloch society. Our family members marry us either with a young child or with an old man, but we cannot do anything because sometimes our parents get bride money. I loved my home in Karachi. There are more job opportunities in Karachi and you can work everywhere. But in Kachi there is only embroidery and we do not get much money for this whatever money women earn is spent on the household. I have been ill for many days but I have not been to a doctor. Whenever a woman becomes sick, she is not treated. Either she recovers on her own or she dies. My husband says women are just like rotten leaves as these leaves have no importance, so women have no value at all.

Strong perceptions of poverty are drawn from these conditions of repression. Inability to get married is also considered to be a strong indication of poverty. Any family without women is considered to be poor, as are people belonging to traditionally marginalised tribes. Being an orphan and the absence of a strong patriarchal figure are widely regarded as a sign of poverty. Caste is also a major factor in determining poverty. A female analyst from Gawadar explained that some households are considered as darzada (low caste), and these are mainly blacksmiths households. People call them to work at weddings or deaths. People from low castes have no rights and if they do not obey the orders of the notables in the area, they have to face dire consequences. Low castes are extremely vulnerable and are given no respect by others - they are not considered to be equal with others. These people always remain poor.

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3.3.4 Institutional dimension Poor people across the PPA sites suffer from little or no adequate access to institutions that should provide opportunities to build up their levels of assets and resources, and security and justice. Reasons for this include geographical isolation and the physical lack of institutions within easy reach; poor quality of service when institutions are physically available; and exclusion from institutions based on a lack of social / political capital and socially constructed factors such gender / caste / ethnicity. Table 3.2:
politically

The dimensions of poverty people are poor when

People are poor culturally economically when they institutionally

Have no rights Work for a feudal landlord Have their irrigation water taken away Cannot access any government institutions Are denied access to natural resources (water, land, forest) Never get the government funds allocated for them Are repressed by the police and law enforcement agencies

Cannot afford a bride price Have women working to earn a livelihood Are widowed and cant marry again Cant feed guests Are serving the majority and dominant tribe Are orphans Are culturally isolated Have no women in the family so men do household work Are drug addicts

Are worst hit by the drought Cannot have two meals in a day Dont have clothes and shoes Dont have any lands Dont have their own house Dont have any livestock Dont have tools to make a living Are unemployed Are in debt Depend on others for their livelihoods

Dont have access any to healthcare Dont have drinking water Dont have any access to markets (no roads) Dont have access to any education Dont have access to justice Dont have any veterinary services Dont have access to government support (microcredit etc)

3.4

Contextual perceptions of poverty

The Balochistan PPA was conducted in nine sites in Balochistan. These sites included Pushtoon and Baloch communities, mountainous and semi arid zones, coastal regions, deserts and plains. These different social and geographical contexts have impacts on the perceptions of poverty. For instance, whilst gender is a key factor in determining levels of poverty across the sites, there are differences in the way it contributes to poverty between both ethnic groups and geographical areas in Balochistan. The practice of paying bride price (valwar), for example, is more prominent in Pushtoon areas; child marriages are more common in Baloch communities; and gender-based denial of health care is more intense in remote areas because of the transportation costs. Domestic violence and discrimination are, however, generic concerns all across Balochistan.

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Perceptions of poverty also varied between locations. For instance, in Loralai District a weak tribal identity was considered an indicator of poverty; whilst in Panjgur District, large families were an indicator; and in Quetta, being a refugee was considered to be a sign of poverty. In the coastal district of Gawadar, not having a boat was an indicator of poverty; whilst landlessness was an indicator in Kharan District. Different social groups also had varying perceptions of indicators of poverty. Women in particular considered the disabled to be poor, and those who became second wives were also considered poor.

3.5

Perceptions of rights and entitlements

The characteristics of the poor in Balochistan described above were many and varied. Many analysts perceived that whilst some factors contributing to their poverty were beyond much control (eg drought), one of the main reasons for poverty in Balochistan was that peoples rights were not being delivered their rights and entitlements were ignored or suppressed. Analysts perceived that the denial of rights occurred both institutionally and under the guise of tradition and culture. The local word for rights used by analysts throughout the province was haq. Analysts across the sites considered their fundamental rights to include access to basic services, including healthcare and education; a voice in decision-making; employment; access to social protection mechanisms; security and access to justice. Illness and the lack of health facilities were seen as being amongst the main causes of poverty. Government healthcare services were either physically inaccessible or were perceived as not serving the poor. Analysts considered that this was a denial of their rights. Access to education was also generally seen as a right but, as with healthcare services, facilities are either physically lacking or are not delivering an adequate quality of service to the poor. Women particularly are denied these rights to basic government services, either through a failure on the supply side for instance the provision of school facilities for girls is woefully inadequate or through demand-side constraints such as the low value placed on female education within some cultures. The poor were generally denied an equal voice in decision-making. For instance, the poor have no direct representation on the jirga. Again, however, decision-making rights are particularly denied to women, both at community level and within the household. Women are generally even denied the right to have a say in decisions regarding their own marriage. Most analysts perceived and expressed that it was their right to voice their opinions and that they should be consulted about decisions which concern them. Across the PPA sites, male analysts perceived that they had the right to jobs and employment, to safety and to an end of the oppression from government agencies like the police and Frontier Corps. The said that they have a right to

64

livelihood and felt that it was the governments duty to fulfil all responsibilities and rights. Throughout Balochistan, PPA participants perceived that they have the right to government provided relief and social protection. This is particularly relevant considering the persistent drought conditions prevalent in Balochistan at the time of the PPA. Some analysts stated that the government should provide them with drought relief and irrigation channels in order to mitigate the impact of drought. Others felt that it was the right of the poor and vulnerable to receive zakat, which the government should provide. The poor are often denied their right to justice and security, but this was given much importance by the participants in the PPA. They perceived that all people should have equal rights to justice, whether this was through formal systems, or more usually, through informal institutions such as the jirga. Again, women in particular are denied this right in Balochistan. Whilst women analysts felt that people had seen some improvements in their lives in the two decades preceding the PPA, they also stated that womens basic rights and entitlements are still being denied. Many denials of womens rights are based on cultural factors limiting, for instance, the mobility of women, the freedom to associate, and decisions regarding their own bodies and marriages. Women who were victims of domestic violence also felt that they had the right to lead lives free from abuse. The perceptions of rights and entitlements of the poor were a close reflection of those rights and entitlements that they felt are being denied them, and the denial of which results in their poverty. Across all the PPA sites in Balochistan, local analysts were articulate, and at times even vociferous, about their rights. In many cases analysts were also aware of why their rights are being suppressed and by whom. However, while there was a great deal of political and social consciousness, there was also a great deal of helplessness amongst the poor in Balochistan.

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CHAPTER FOUR ASSETS AND LIVELIHOODS OF THE POOR

4.1 Introduction

The central feature of a livelihoods framework is that people possess different amounts of five types of basic resources or capital. These are important in their own right to peoples well-being. They are also assets ways of storing and transforming wealth, so as to generate income, or to smooth out sharp variations in income and consumption on account of natural disasters and economic shocks. Together with local people, and as a way of mapping how they make a living, the PPA explored the range of assets that people have at their disposal and the major constraints they face in protecting, and building up stocks of, their assets. The asset or types-of-capital framework is useful for the analysis of both chronic poverty and vulnerability. It draws attention to the range of factors that have typically been found to be important in this way. Not all of the assets on which poor people draw are of an obviously productive and, still less, financial nature. Social and political relationships, and the natural environment, can work as capital as well as land and savings. The following sections, therefore, review a broad range of poor peoples assets under the broad headings of natural, produced, human, social and political capital. Rather than simply provide an inventory of different forms of capital and assets, this section shows how access to, or lack of, various assets affects poverty and well-being, particularly at individual or household level. Box 4.1: Five types of capital land, forests, water, marine and wild resources physical infrastructure and credit nutrition, health, education, local-knowledge the benefits from a dense pattern of association power or powerlessness

Natural capital Produced capital Human capital Social capital Political capital

The separation between these assets is, to some extent, arbitrary and different assets can be substituted for others. For example, social exchange and reciprocity is often used when poor people are chronically short of financial resources. Similarly, political assets not only play a role in achieving the objective of building infrastructure but also of securing credit from banks and other formal sources, finding employment, and so on. The analysis of livelihood assets requires the investigation of social relations in a specific local and regional context. This is particularly important with respect to the patterns of ownership and access to assets, the differences between rural and urban areas, the gendered aspects of ownership, labour and ethnicity, etc.

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4.2

Natural capital

Most of the Balochistan PPA sites could be classified as rural and natural resources are, therefore, of vital importance to peoples livelihood strategies. However, the natural capital available to poor people in each site, and the importance they place upon it, varies significantly. In the sub-sites of Gawadar, for instance, mangroves and the ocean are forms of natural capital whilst in Kachi, agricultural land and forests are the main forms of natural capital. Analysts across the sites laid collective/social claims to the natural resources in their areas. However, despite this, access is often difficult and declining. The reasons behind poor access to, and control over, natural capital include both general negative trends in the overall quantity and quality of natural resources for instance, deforestation and land fragmentation and socially constructed factors such as caste or gender. Local analysts in Awaran, for example, perceived that forest resources have both decreased in quantity, and what remains is also less accessible to the poor. In terms of access to natural capital based upon gender or caste, the clearest example is that women are denied, in practice if not in theory, the right to inherit land. The commonest forms of natural capital listed by analysts across the PPA sites included land, water, forests, and livestock. In the coastal site of Gawadar, analysts also listed mangroves and other marine resources such as fish and prawn stocks. 4.2.1 Land Land is of central importance both as a physical resource upon which to grow food, keep livestock and build a home, and as a source of well-being, security, and power. For the poor, having a bit of land is a reliable source of money in bad times it can be sold when debt repayments or when unexpected expenses arise. However, the distribution of land in Balochistan is far from equal. In Awaran, for instance, male analysts suggested that the largest landholdings belong to a few local notables. In Kahn Zeelag, a sub-site of Awaran, analysts stated that a tribal leader, Mohammad Abeam, and his family possess most of the agricultural lands. The majority of the people have no land and work as tenants on other peoples land. In Panjgur, the situation is the same: three individuals own half of the land. Another 100 or so families own the other half of the land but landholding per household was perceived to be declining due to land fragmentation. Land fragmentation was perceived to be a problem in many sites in Balochistan. Analysts in Panjgur stated that the concentration of land into the hands of the few was increasing. In some sites, however, analysts suggested that access to and ownership of land was more equitably distributed. In Kalmat, a sub-site of Gawadar,

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analysts stated that everyone has a piece of land on which they grow crops and animal fodder: there are few if any tenants. However, even though they own land, the lack of water has resulted in most land being barren and unproductive. Despite the traditional emphasis placed upon land as a source both of livelihood and power, the drought conditions that have prevailed throughout Balochistan in the years preceding the PPA have contributed to many analysts ranking water as their most important from of natural capital. 4.2.2 Water If there is rain and floodwater comes, then our life is like that of a king. We can produce wheat, lentils and become self-sufficient in food. (A male analyst, Awal Hashim, Kachi district) Water was widely considered the most important natural resource. But almost everywhere, it has become increasingly scarce in recent years. Most of Balochistan is arid or barani (rain-fed) irrigated; only a small area is irrigated through canals. In most arid areas the persistence of drought was a common phenomenon, and in the recent past its intensity has increased significantly. In some places the drought has devastated and completely transformed the lives of people, especially in the Baloch areas such as Loralai. Drought has also affected the once fertile Pushtoon areas that were well irrigated due to streams the water levels in the streams have now declined significantly. In Gawadar, analysts stated that although almost every household has its own land, it is all barani and crop and fodder production had declined substantially due to the drought most land was barren. Farmers cannot install tubewells because the underground water is brackish and not suitable for the crops. Most villagers are dependent on spring water for drinking, but this too was brackish. In sub-site Nikhal Adinzai in Loralai district, people depend upon a water pool that is filled by rainwater. It provides drinking water for both humans and livestock. In the winter and in times of drought, however, the pool dries up and women have to fetch water from sources located far from the village. In urban areas too, drinking water is a problem. Analysts in Pushtoon Darah, a sub-site of Quetta, explained that the water for around 600 households is supplied through a 3-inch diameter pipe the pressure is therefore low and houses do not get a reasonable supply of water. This affects poor households the most as the better-off and rich can afford to install pumps and often have 3 or 4 additional, illegal connections. In Qaisar Colony too, female analysts explained that they face many miseries due to the inadequacy of their water supply. In rural areas, the lack of water not only affects crop production but also has severe impacts on other sources of livelihood such as forests, trees and livestock.

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4.2.3 Forests, trees and wildlife In many rural sites, forests and trees contribute significantly to the livelihoods of the poor. In Gawadar, analysts explained that many people earn much of their livelihood by selling firewood. They also use the trees in the construction of their houses and use the leaves as fodder for their livestock. Forest resources, however, are declining for a variety of reasons. With peoples requirements increasing and jobs being scarce, cutting trees and selling firewood and timber are very important to livelihoods. However, due to drought over the last four years, many trees are dying. This is placing immense pressure on the remaining forest resources. This has also created a problem for the livestock as the availability of fodder from trees has declined. Livestock have perished and the owners are left no choice but to purchase fodder from the market. Peesh, a bush, also provides a significant source of livelihoods for many women in rural Balochistan. Peesh is used to make mats and rope. Although traditionally mainly women were involved in this craft, the men are also becoming involved as other livelihood opportunities decline. The combined effect of drought and increased use of peesh has caused a reduction in availability, with people having to travel further and further to collect this resource. The drought has also caused a perceived decline in quality of peesh. An elderly woman analyst from Panjgur said that in the past people used bushes from the mountains and made medicines from them. Now, she said, since there are no bushes on the mountains people have to buy medicines from the stores. The degradation of forested areas described above has impacted on the levels of biodiversity and wildlife populations in Balochistan. Analysts in Killa Saifullah described how 30 years ago many different species of wildlife existed in the forests. These included deer, markhors (wild sheep), wolves, jackals, and foxes. These were utilised for various purposes: for instance, wild sheep skins were used for prayer mats, shoes, coats, quilts, or covers for charms (taveez). The sick, and especially pregnant women, used to wear the sheep and deerskin. The meat was consumed and other parts of the carcase, such as the gall bladder, were used for the treatment of diseases. Analysts stated that there is no wildlife in the area now because the forest is almost denuded. Another reason suggested for the decline of wildlife in Gawadar sub-sites was the unregulated hunting of animals by outsiders, particularly from Turbat and Gawadar. 4.2.4 Livestock Livestock are important and valuable assets to the poor in terms of both income and food. Livestock found across all rural areas of the PPA include cattle, goats, hens, donkeys and camels. These animals are a source of dairy

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products and meat, and can also, in times of debt or emergency, be sold to repay loans or buy medical treatment. With the help of the livestock, people also plough their land, and transport goods and materials such as firewood, peesh and water. Drought has also affected livestock production throughout the province. The death of livestock is a major shock and has a terrible effect on the asset base and livelihood of the poor. Box 4.2: The importance of livestock Mohammad is from Panjgur district and used to have five hundred sheep and goats before the drought - now he has just ten. Due to the drought, all have died. He has no other source of livelihood and is selling his remaining livestock. Mohammad explained that the drought has made him destitute and now he begs for flour from the other villagers. He feels great shame in spreading his hands in front of others. For the survival of his livestock he borrowed money and purchased fodder, but the livestock perished and now he is in debt.

Although many people had lost a lot of animals due to the drought, analysts still felt that livestock constituted a valuable asset. According to women analysts in Kharan, domesticated animals are also an important source of livelihood because they enable people to collect firewood more easily to sell. 4.2.5 Marine and coastal resources In the coastal site of Gawadar, marine and ocean resources were a significant form of natural capital. In sub-site Kalmat, fishing was the main source of livelihood male analysts explained that all the people in the village were fishermen and mainly involved in the prawn business. Fishing was also the main source of employment in the village. However, income from fishing was also very seasonal, with weather conditions affecting both the ability to go out to sea and the quantity of catch. A major factor affecting the sustainability of fishing as a livelihood was the manner in which foreign-owned trawlers were perceived to significantly reduce fish stocks by using large nets, leaving little left for local fishermen. Large trawlers were also said to come from other parts of Pakistan, particularly Sindh. Mangroves were also an important natural resource, providing both fodder for livestock and fuelwood. Additionally, mangroves were the main breeding place for prawns. Prawn production decreases between February and April due to breeding and income declines during this period.

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Table 4.1: District

Natural capital and related issues in Balochistan PPA districts Forms of Issues and problems natural capital
Forests Rangelands Mountains Peesh bushes Marine life Land Forests Spring Mangroves Drought has severely damaged peesh, forests and rangelands

Awaran

Gawadar

Kachi

Land Forests Rainwater Herbs

Kharan

Forest Water Land Wild bushes Forest Water Land Wild bushes Forest Barren land Few livestock Range land Wildlife Forest Precious stones Salt mines Petroleum Wildlife (eagles) Water Coal mines Fertile land Range lands Spring water peesh bushes Forests Lands Underground water Mountains Air

Killa Abdullah

Foreign boats are catching fish and stocks have declined sharply In summer fetching water is a problem Drought is a major factor contributing to the decline of land productivity and forests Trees are cut for fuel and for selling due to over population Mangroves are decreasing, and with them the prawn stocks Drought has severely hit the area, barani land is barren Forest is only 5 percent of what it used to be 40 years ago Mushrooms for domestic consumption are not available Hives of honeybees are destroyed Security is an issue; people cannot harvest their fields until they make proper personal security arrangements 1/3 of the crop goes to the landlord in case of its delay, people are beaten up or forced to leave their village Cutting of forest and drought has resulted in increase in sand storms and soil erosion A type of local spinach has become extinct The quality of rangeland has declined Date trees are not producing their optimal level Drought has effected the production of barley and wheat Drought has destroyed the rangeland Fuel wood is decreasing because of drought Only one stream out of three is flowing, all others have dried up Wildlife such as deer, markhor (wild sheep) wolf, jackal and fox are declining as the forest is cut down and their habitat destroyed Resources are not available to extract precious stones Drought has destroyed orchards

Killa Saifullah

Loralai

Panjgur

Quetta

The rich have allotted the peesh bushes area in their names and use it against the poor Drought and increase in population have caused decline in natural resources 70 per cent of livestock have perished Drought has caused shortage of water Pollution has increased in the city since there has been no rain Rapid increases in population, especially of Afghan immigrants, are a stress on the citys natural resources

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In sub-site Kallag, villagers were less dependent upon marine resources for their livelihoods. Analysts stated that although fishing contributed to their livelihoods, they were mainly dependent upon farming and livestock. However, many of the factors discussed above were also relevant to fishermen in Kallag.

4.3

Human capital

Human capital can be considered as all those characteristics of an individual that allow her or him to make use of other resources in the struggle for a livelihood those factors that influence the ability to work, to solve problems, to care for others. Most obviously human capital incorporates knowledge (usually indicated by educational status but also including local knowledge) and skills, and health and nutritional status. In addition, the ability to lean on certain human assets in times of adversity is an important safety net for many poor families. The means by which people should be able to improve their human capital in Balochistan are grossly inadequate. Health facilities, where they exist, are inefficient or not accessible to the poor. The education provided was often considered to be of poor quality, and girls education appears to be completely neglected in many places. The literacy rate in Balochistan is low, particularly for women. In Kharan District, one male analyst commented that not one woman in his village could write her name. There are two major reasons behind this very low female literacy rate. On the supply side is the lack of education facilities for girls, for example in some sites there are no girls primary schools, and in most sites there are no post-primary education facilities for girls. This means that the women and girls of these villages automatically have their opportunity of acquiring education reduced, or even eliminated. On the demand side, poverty reduces the chances of poor households educating their children as they cannot afford the costs even when facilities are available. Boys are also generally the priority to be sent to school. Whilst education was generally regarded as a right across the Balochistan sites, there were mixed opinions about whether this applied equally to boys and girls. In practice it certainly did not. Female analysts in Pushtoon Darah, a sub-site of Quetta, explained that although they felt that females should have equal opportunities to men for education, this often did not happen due to fears that receiving an English education will have negative impacts on the cultural and religious values of girls. Although most people saw education as a right and important for increasing opportunities, one woman analyst stated: Even if our children get an education, they will still never get government employment. Therefore, we do not give much importance to education and prefer that they work and earn some income for us.

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Skills and local knowledge also play a vital role in the overall development of any community, particularly in the absence of significant formal education. Many Baloch men and women deal with poverty and adversity by honing some of their traditional skills and assets, most notably embroidery. Some women have no other economic activities except embroidery. In Killa Saifullah, handicraft making is quite a common tradition almost every woman knows needlework. Most women do embroidery for decoration and for marriages, but some poor women sell their embroidery work. However, returns are low it takes four to five months to prepare one suit for which they receive around Rs. 3000 and this time consuming hard work also affects their health. Analysts in urban Quetta explained that a persons eyesight often suffers when they are engaged in embroidery work. The majority of the rural population are involved in farming and use their local knowledge in this livelihood. Some men also have other technical skills that enable them to diversify their livelihood sources or leave highly vulnerable livelihoods altogether. In Awaran, for instance, there are blacksmiths who make tools for ploughing, knives, and other implements. There are also masons who build the houses, drivers, mechanics, and shopkeepers. Good health is extremely important in enabling the poor to work effectively and sustain their livelihoods. The poor in Balochistan face many illnesses and threats to their health. Some of these are seasonal for instance, coughs and flu are more common during winter months whilst others are caused by poor water supplies or sanitation facilities. A group of female analysts in Kharan explained that men and women jointly work on date trees. They said that labouring on date trees, even though it is hard work, is highly regarded because it is a source of income. However, this work can have negative impacts on the health the hard work makes them ill, and falls from the trees are common. However, as with education, access to the facilities that would contribute to better health status and higher levels of human capital are limited for the poor. Publicly provided healthcare services are often inaccessible (either physically or through poor quality service) whilst private services are unaffordable.

4.4

Produced capital

In the terms used in this report, produced capital includes physical infrastructure, such as power supplies, roads, water and sanitation systems, schools and health facilities, buildings, productive equipment and agricultural stores. It also includes monetary wealth and credit, which some conceptual frameworks treat as a separate category of financial assets. This section concentrates on issues of both infrastructure provision and access to credit. 4.4.1 Physical infrastructure The availability of basic infrastructure is variable across the PPA sites, falling to shocking levels in some places and subject to social exclusion in others.

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Almost every PPA site in Balochistan had some access to different government provided assets, such as a school, Basic Health Unit (BHU), road, water supply scheme, dispensary, etc. (see Table 4.2). However, no PPA site had access to all of these basic facilities. And even when the physical infrastructure was in place, many were not functioning properly, if at all, and certainly not for the underprivileged and marginalised. Table 4.2: Types of physical capital in the PPA sub-sites District
Gawadar Killa Abdullah Killa Saifullah Panjgur B A B Awaran Kharan Quetta A B Loralai A Kachi B A B

Infrastructure
Sub-site Basic Heath Unit Dispensary Hospital Primary school (boys) Primary school (girls) Post-primary school (boys) Post-primary school (girls) Private schools Madrassa (religious school) Mosque Electricity Gas Water supply system Water reservoir Sewerage/drainage system Telephone Veterinary facilities Police station Bank

+ +

A = Poorest sub-site B = Better-off sub-site = Physically available + = Defunct

Consistent stories emerged from all the sites throughout the PPA: while physical assets may have existed, they did not function adequately. Water tanks had no water, BHUs had no staff or medicine and schools had no teachers and inadequate standards of education. Male analysts also said that they take women to Karachi for child birth and that the expenses of travel and doctors fees are high. In government hospitals the staff were perceived to not care for the poor and patients were said to

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often have to wait many days to see a doctor. A male analyst from Awaran summed up the situation with regard to healthcare in his district, stating: We, the poor, get nothing from the BHU. The staff behaviour is not good and whenever we go there they tell us that medicines are not available and that we should get them from a store. A female analyst from Gawadar explained that even though technically there is a school, it remains closed most of the time because the teacher lives in Pasni and is almost always absent. The school has no building and has been opened in a hut. There is no furniture, mats and chairs and the boys go there only occasionally when the teacher is not absent. Another woman said that government personnel do not come to inspect the school and so standards are not checked. In Adinzai, Loralai district, analysts explained that their drinking water comes from a pool that is filled by rainwater. This supply lasts for several months, and the water is drunk by both people and livestock. In the winter, and during times of drought, the water supply in the pool dries up and women have to collect water from sources further away. Few women have access to donkeys to transport the water so they have to carry it on their heads. Even when they are ill, pregnant or busy with other responsibilities, the absence of a basic water supply system in the village forces women to travel far to fetch water and increases the burden upon them significantly. 4.4.2 Credit Access to timely credit can be critical to the livelihoods of poor people. Male analysts in Kallag, a sub-site of Gawadar, stated that with access to credit, they would be able to diversify their livelihoods and reduce their vulnerability to drought. In Killa Abdullah, male analysts explained that people take loans to try and save their orchards from the impacts of drought. Other people take loans to cover the costs of every day needs or to pay valwar (bride price). Analysts in Quetta stated that sources of credit include the banks, insurance companies, micro-credit schemes, local shopkeepers and family. However, access to credit from formal institutions is limited for the poor. The procedures for obtaining loans from banks are difficult, bribes are demanded by officials to grant the loan, and the poor have limited collateral to offer. Only the influential people who have money can benefit from credit. We who are poor cannot give bribes to obtain credit. (A poor male analyst, Kallag) Male analysts in Quetta explained that they preferred to obtain small loans from shopkeepers because these were easily accessible, usually given in accordance with Islamic laws, and interest free. However, other informal sources of credit were not viewed so favourably some moneylenders charge high rates of interest that people cannot afford. Borrowers often end up having to sell land or possessions to make repayments. In some cases, borrowers or

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their relatives are even kidnapped to pressurise them into repaying; or borrowers sell their daughters to the creditors when they cannot repay the loan.

4.5

Social capital

While everyone uses a variety of social relationships in pursuit of positive livelihood outcomes, particularly during periods of shock or stress, the poor particularly are forced to be highly reliant on social resources in lieu of access to natural, financial and physical resources. Social resources, or capital, include memberships of and participation in formalised groups, as well as more fluid and informal networks and relationships based on trust, reciprocity, cohesion and exchange. Non-governmental and community-based organisations (NGOs and CBOs) are limited in presence and activity in the Balochistan sites. Instead, social resources are often accessed along lines of family, caste, clan, tribe or religious group. In Kallag, the poorest sub-site in Gawadar District, male analysts from the Zikri clan explained that they had established an informal CBO called the Kallag Social Welfare which did charity work, ran a tuition centre, adult literacy classes, and helped the poor by taking sick people to the hospital, and vaccinating children. This group had approached South Asian Partnership (SAP), an NGO, and had initiated a scheme to build a storage tank for rainwater and an embroidery centre for women. In Loralai, the Balochistan Rural Support Programme (BRSP) is one nongovernment organisation that was perceived to have had a good influence in the area. Male analysts explained that the BRSP had supported the poor by constructing a dam and school buildings in the area. BRSP has also increased awareness amongst people and helped them to form a village organisation named Bahar. BRSP provided loans to this village organisation with which they constructed a water tank and a water reservoir for drinking purposes. In Kharan, the Welfare Society Mashkel provides services in health, education, and other assistance to the poor. In other sites poor people relied more on informal forms of social capital. However, analysts disagreed on the levels of social capital in some of the sites. Whilst some perceived it to be strong and sometimes increasing, others perceived levels to have decreased over the years. One group of men from Pushtoon Darah, the poorest sub-site in urban Quetta, felt that traditions had a positive effect on keeping the community together. Traditional rituals celebrated during Eid, at weddings, funerals, and other stages in life kept the villagers together. These contacts also prevent conflict among families. However, in complete contrast, another group of men said that in the past, many more people used to meet over Eid, and during traditional ceremonies, but now this is declining. The main reasons they

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perceived for this were growing poverty and the fast pace of life, which left no time for social visits. A poor man from Loralai said that 20 years before the PPA, a tribal tradition called ashar (collective work without wages) existed. If a person needed help and had a lot of work on his lands, then the whole village would help him. Analysts also said that if someone was sick the other villagers would look after him if he had to be taken to hospital transport was arranged. In Killa Abdullah, analysts also felt that ashar was the main event of co-operation in the community. A person, who could not harvest wheat alone, would invite the people of the community for help and serve food and tea. And this way he saved money and developed good friendships among the community. However, this social unity was perceived to be declining due to immense economic pressure and the fact that everyone has some problem to deal with. The custom of ashar where people used to build their houses collectively has declined. In the past people used to participate collectively in the harvest without asking for any payment, but now due to the drought there is no agriculture so this custom had also declined.

4.6

Political capital

Political capital can be defined as the resources, relationships and leverage used in influencing decisions made at different levels of the public sphere. In this way, it encompasses the power relations between and within state and society. At all levels individual, household, community, region, nation powerlessness is both a cause and effect of the other facets of poverty such as lack of natural, financial, physical and social capital. Across the Balochistan PPA sites, the poor had little direct access to decisionmaking processes and institutions. The little influence that they have is channelled through powerful individuals and often comes at a price for instance, poor people are instructed on which candidate to vote for in elections and have little choice but to obey. In all the rural PPA sites, analysts explained that there is usually one individual who has most influence in the decision making process. Usually this was the sardar or the religious leader. In urban Quetta, however, government officials were perceived to be more influential. The dominating, authoritative role of the sardar or nawab means that decision-making structures are authoritarian and the poor did not have a voice. However, many of those who participated in the PPA felt that their sardar provided justice, was fair and that they were treated adequately. People in Kharan said that their sardar solves their problems, disputes and clashes in a good way because they have the power and honour given by the tribal system. However, younger analysts were of the opinion that the sardar uses his power and keeps the people unaware and unknowledgeable. They felt that the sardars oppress people for as long as they live and limit possibilities for increasing awareness amongst local people. They also argued

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that the sardars even encourage the Frontier Corps to oppress the people so that their superiority over people can be ensured and justified. Across the PPA sites in Balochistan, the degree of political capital to which the poor have access to is extremely limited. Power and decision-making authority are usually held in the hands of a few. Those with the least political capital are women.

4.7

Livelihood options of the poor

Livelihood options and possibilities depend on the nature of assets available and the ability of people to draw upon these assets. Livelihood strategies are only sustainable when they maintain or build up peoples asset base. If land is plentiful and there is access to water, it is probable that most people will rely on agriculture as a basis for their livelihood. If they are unable to draw upon these capitals, then other strategies will have to be developed. The livelihoods of the people who participated in the PPA in Balochistan are therefore varied. The persistence of drought over recent years has left many options and sources of livelihood in rural areas closed to the poor. Increasingly, for many of the poor in Balochistan options are declining and many have to do whatever they can just to survive. In the rural sub-sites the poor continue to rely heavily on agriculture-based livelihoods, including livestock keeping. In barani areas, the productivity of the land is dependent upon sufficient rainfall. In Awal Hashim, both male and female analysts explained that most people in their village owned their land and when rain comes, they cultivate sorghum, wheat and pulses and earn enough. With rain, their crops are plentiful, their livestock have enough fodder to eat and their health status increases. For those who do not own land, working as tenants on the lands of others provides a source of livelihood. In Bazdad, Awaran district, analysts explained that influential people and the sardar of the area owned the land and water sources and the poor work as tenants on their lands. The produce mainly goes to the landlord and they receive just a quarter of the produce. This hardly fulfils their basic requirements. In Awal Hashim too, tenants receive a share of the produce although the amount varies between one half and two thirds depending on how much expense the landlord shoulders. In Joisar, a sub-site of Panjgur, analysts explained that drought had severely affected agricultural livelihoods. Very little agricultural land was available and cultivable, and the majority of farmers had a maximum of two acres of land. Analysts felt that it was very difficult to earn a livelihood from agriculture. Agricultural labour provides opportunities for both men and women. In Kharan, men and women work together on date trees. Analysts said that labouring on date trees is prioritised in spite of the hard work involved because it gives them more money; they also burn the date wood and use it as timber. However, they also said that a negative point of date labouring is

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that the hard work affects their health and that they feel dizzy by climbing up the trees and can fall down. Every year, five to six people fall off the date trees. Some of them die while some become disabled for the rest of their lives. Women analysts from Kahn Zeelag, Awaran district, indicated that the number of date trees was increasing and people are producing more dates. Livestock is also an important source of livelihood for the poor. Livestock provide income, meat, milk and transportation camels are used to bring firewood and donkeys to bring peesh. A female analyst from Panjgur said that many peoples livelihoods were dependent mostly on livestock and they had to look for fodder throughout the year. This was very difficult and they remained busy all the time in the struggle to protect their livestock from the effects of drought. Analysts also explained that livestock numbers had decreased significantly so now people do not sell livestock except when they urgently require money. Forest resources also contribute towards livelihoods in rural areas, providing labour opportunities, fuel for domestic consumption and selling, timber, and other raw materials and resources. However, many analysts stated that these resources were declining in availability. The causes of deforestation included over cutting and insufficient time for regeneration, drought and the increasing population. Analysts in Panjgur also stated that rich and influential people had taken over the control of forests and do not allow the others to cut them because they are on their lands. In Kharan some people depended on cutting and selling wood from the jungle, but now the forest department does not allow it. They earn Rs. 100 for two days work, not enough to meet even their daily expenses. Another difficulty they were facing was that they could not take wood to the bazaar because their camels had died due to the drought. Analysts in Gawadar explained that selling firewood is another source of livelihood for many people. During the drought period, dependency on firewood selling doubles because there is no alternative for work and selling wood keeps some income coming in. One male participant said that he had a camel on which he would take wood to Pasni, which would take two days to reach for this he would earn just Rs.100. Another analyst said he earned Rs. 200 by taking two loads on his camel and this also takes him two days. A major contributor to livelihoods, particularly following the drought persistent in Balochistan, is the use of the peesh bush in order to make mats. Peesh grows in the Baloch areas and is seen almost as a saviour for many families who would have been in far greater poverty had they not had this option. Women in particular play a key role in collecting peesh and in the making of products, sometimes girls are withdrawn from school to assist. Mats and ropes are made from it and sold in the markets of Karachi. Analysts also used these same mats on the roofs of their houses. One patth (a strip 2m by 10 cm) can be made in two hours and sold for Rs.3 to village shopkeepers. Women analysts in Panjgur said that they mainly made mats from peesh and sold them to earn some money. They made only one mat in two or three days,

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which was sold for Rs.100. They emphasised that this is hard work and the earnings are low compared to the amount of work put in. The lack of rain was also said to be responsible for the poorer quality of peesh. On the coast, and particularly in Gawadar, fishing forms an important part of peoples livelihood strategies. Analysts explained that fishing requires a lot of hard work and men go early in the morning and come back late at night. Profits and losses depend on the season in the winter there are more fish while in the summer, fishermen do not go to sea for four months. Male analysts in Kalmat said that fishing is the main source of livelihood: all the people in the village are fishermen and they mainly deal with prawns. However, they do not get sufficient income from this source. Half of a boats catch goes to the boat owner and the fishermen distribute the other half among themselves as labour. The fish stocks in the area are perceived to be declining as foreign trawlers and boats from other parts of Pakistan come into the area and use modern, large-scale equipment to catch large hauls of fish. Analysts feared that if these methods continue to be used, fish stocks would decline even further thus depriving local poor fishermen of their livelihood. A group of men from Gawadar stated that they preferred fishing as a form of earning income. Fishing has been their family business since their forefathers time and they know no other work. They feel that they do not have enough education to get a job elsewhere and, therefore, have no other alternative. With the declining availability of and access to many natural resources, and the declining quality of those resources remaining, many rural poor are increasingly seeking alternatives to complement or replace traditional natural resource based livelihoods. Migration to cities in search of daily wage labour or other employment is one option for the poor. Analysts in Killa Abdullah stated that five years ago very few people used to go to other cities for work. Now, however, as agriculture was not perceived to be an option and livestock have perished, many people have left their villages for the cities. Analysts in Bazdad, a sub-site of Awaran district, explained that the majority of people in their village are wage labours. However, the wages in Awaran are only Rs. 70 per day which is not enough to meet their expenses, so people prefer to go to Turbat and Panjgur where labourers can expect to earn Rs. 3000 per month. Daily wage labour is not a preferred choice as jobs are insecure, the work is often strenuous and the wages generally low. Thirty years ago a worker could earn Rs.10 per day and with this money he could buy flour, sugar and rice. Now a worker earns Rs.80 per day but this hardly fulfils his daily requirements. (A male analyst, Awaran district) Wage labour forms a major part of livelihood strategies for the poor in urban areas. Male analysts in Pushtoon Darah, a sub-site of Quetta, explained that

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around half of the population depends on wage labour. Other sources of income for men in the urban sub-sites include driving, shopkeeping and handcart labouring. Analysts also stated that many of these sources of income have seasonal fluctuations: wage labour and driving are very good professions in the summer season in terms of earning satisfactory income. However, income from driving falls in the winter as people move from Quetta to other warmer parts of Pakistan, or travel by bus instead of rickshaw due to the cold. Opportunities in shopkeeping and handcart labouring were perceived to have decreased in the urban sub-sites. One local shopkeeper said that three years ago he used to sell Rs. 2500 worth of products every day, but now this has decreased to just Rs. 300 per day. This has happened due to new shops opening up and inflation. The slowing down of economic and business activity has also affected the demand for daily wage labour, which has fallen markedly. A source of livelihood and income for women across the sites is embroidery. Although women are often paid little in return for a lot of work, female analysts in Kachi considered embroidery to be womens main source of income. Women in Awal Hashim, a sub-site of Kachi, explained that a dress may take a month to embroider but they usually earn just Rs. 200 - 700 for this, depending on the quality of the work. Handicrafts such as embroidery, making paranda, making trouser strings and making cotton mattresses were also major sources of livelihood for women in Killa Abdullah. Afghan women refugees from Pushtoon Darah stated that most women do embroidery work and receive remuneration, which relieves their financial burden to a certain extent. The Qandhari men (Afghan refugees) also do embroidery work on clothes with the help of sewing machines. However, in other sites such as Joisar and Panjgur, women analysts said that they only make embroidery for themselves and their children. There is no concept of doing embroidery as a form of livelihood because they cannot afford to purchase the materials required for it and do not have access to a market for embroidered clothes. Migration overseas is also an option taken up by some people. In the past many men from Balochistan used to go to the Middle East to work and the requirements for papers and passports were favourable and rather lax. The links with some of the Gulf States were old and traditional, and cheap labour from the Baloch region of Pakistan was always welcomed. Analysts in Quetta perceived that in recent years there has been a substantial decrease in people travelling to these countries due to new strict visa policies. Analysts from Quetta said that in terms of a bright future and earning respect, jobs in foreign countries, trading or government jobs were given a high status. If a person is working in a foreign country or is a trader, he is usually able to earn enough money to start a good business for his children and give them decent education; that is why they are treated with respect amongst the

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community. If a household member is working abroad, the condition of that family is considered to be much better off compared to others. They are able to afford motorcycles, blankets, they live in mud houses and the women wear gold too. However, overseas job opportunities were perceived to be declining and labourers receiving lower wages. Due to this the remittances are also decreasing. There are also perceived risks with migrating to overseas for employment if men go through legal channels, they face the risk of not getting a job and their money is wasted. In sub-sites close to the borders, small-scale cross border trade and smuggling contribute to the livelihoods of some people. However, this source of income is threatened due to dangers from robbers and also from government agencies such as the Frontier Corps and Customs. The Frontier Corps demand large bribes and sometimes refuse to allow the poor to trade only wealthy people are allowed to continue. Legal small-scale trade has also been affected by high government taxes, which analysts felt should be lowered to encourage and generate business activity. The most preferred source of livelihood in many of the sites was government employment. The perceived advantages of government jobs included employment-for-life, access to medical services, index-linked pay, access to some officials and high-up people, possibilities for generating income not really commensurate with ones job and, usually, guaranteed monthly pay. It is also seen as an honourable profession. However, the respondents from Quetta said that the ease of attaining government employment in this area has touched its lowest level over the last ten years. For those with no other options, begging is resorted to for survival. People are now begging because their animals have died due to the drought and they have neither assets nor alternative employment opportunities. Women analysts in Killa Saifullah explained that young men who can work are labouring in coalmines but old men who cannot do labour are begging in cities. Young male analysts in Killa Saifullah also said that when a creditor demands repayment, people who have to sell their land or other assets to return the loans are left with no other source of income and so are forced to beg in the cities.

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CHAPTER FIVE - VULNERABILITY

5.1 Introduction

A range of trends, shocks and seasonal shifts over which people have little or no control affect the livelihoods of the poor. These can affect livelihoods in both positive and negative ways, facilitating improvements in the well-being of the poor or causing even the better-off to slip into poverty. Vulnerability is linked to peoples ability to invest in or draw down on their assets in the face of shocks. The vulnerability of local people to these factors was analysed by the participants in the Balochistan PPA process. Poverty appears to be an almost permanent condition from which very few households in Balochistan are able to break free permanently. This chapter examines how various long-term trends, seasonal variations and sudden shocks contribute to keeping the poor in poverty or causing the better-off to fall into a state of poverty. Some factors may affect livelihood opportunities and cause people to move into and out of poverty within a short period of time, while others may cause those living on the border of poverty but highly vulnerable to fall into a spiral of declining well-being from which it is difficult to escape.

5.2

Trends affecting the well-being of the poor

This section examines some of the external changes that appear to have contributed to or undermined the livelihoods of the poor in Balochistan from a long-term perspective. It identifies the main trends perceived by PPA participants and the factors that seem to have influenced these processes in different periods over the last 40 years. In the rural areas of Balochistan, the poor depend heavily upon various forms of natural capital in their livelihood strategies. However, across the PPA sites, analysts commonly perceived trends of declining access to natural resources and increasing environmental degradation. In the coastal areas of Gawadar, analysts explained how fish catches are declining as foreign trawlers use modern equipment to catch large numbers of fish. Boats from other parts of Pakistan also contribute to this over-fishing. Local fishermen are increasingly forced to fish in shallower waters, but even there fish stocks are falling. In rural sites across Balochistan, analysts perceived several significant trends in the environment and natural resources. Forests, for instance, are declining at an alarming rate in some sites, and access of poor people to remaining forest resources was also perceived to be falling. Population increases, the cutting of trees for timber and fuel (both for domestic consumption and selling), and the drought conditions experienced in the years preceding the PPA were all perceived to be contributory factors resulting in deforestation.

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Drought and deforestation are also contributing to a fall in livestock numbers as the availability of fodder from forests becomes less and livestock owners are left with no choice but to purchase fodder from the market. One analyst from Nikhal Adinzai, a sub-site in Loralai, explained that four years before the PPA, people used to supply livestock to other provinces now they are unable to fulfil even local requirements. Drought has also had an effect on agricultural productivity, which was also perceived to be declining. Water is crucial to the production of crops in the arid, desert and barani PPA sites. Without water, opportunities for agricultural labour decline, crops become more susceptible to diseases and pests, and levels of food security fall. A group of women analysts from Killa Saifullah stated that in the past people used to bring fuel wood from forests and every household had livestock. They reported that people who had previously owned 300 sheep and goats now have just two or three sheep. Local people previously received an income from almond orchards but now they do not even have enough almonds for their own consumption. There were crops of wheat and maize all around. Now most of the families grind the maize and boil it in water for eating. Figure 5.1: Changes in natural resources over time, by analysts in Nalai Sar, Killa Saifullah district Time period Crops Vegetables Cultivated land Water Forests Livestock Almond orchards
OOOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OO OOO OOO OO OOO OOO OOO OOOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO O OOO OOO OO OOO OOO OOO 1980-85 OOOO OOO 1985-90 OOOO OOO 1990-95 OO OO OOOOO OOOOO OOO OO OO OOO OO OOO 1995-01 OO OOO OOO O OO OO O OO

OOO

OO

Analysts from Nalai Sar, the better-off sub-site in Killa Saifullah, produced the previous matrix (Figure 5.1) showing their perceptions of the trends in availability of various forms of natural capital over the preceding two decades. Each form of natural capital (crops, land etc) was allocated a total of 20 points, which analysts then distributed across the matrix to indicate perceived

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availability in each 5-year period. The results of the exercise show clearly how all forms of natural resources have declined over the two decades with the exception of vegetables. In almost all cases where there was a decline, it was perceived to have occurred in the decade immediately preceding the PPA. In the urban sub-sites of Quetta, analysts reported an increase in the population and a decrease in the availability of labouring and job opportunities. Analysts perceived one of the causes of these trends to be the increasing number of refugees and migrants from other areas of Balochistan. Not only was this perceived to have increased the competition for jobs, but analysts also stated that the influx of people from other areas and different tribes had decreased the level of peace and tranquillity in the site and the level of social cohesion. Analysts in Panjgur explained that people in the area had previously lived nomadic lifestyles with no permanent residence, land or agriculture. Gradually people started to settle and those who had money began to cultivate barren land and irrigate it with rainwater. Influential leaders or those who had many livestock were allotted more land in their names. Around half the land is in the hands of just a few families, while another 100 or so families own the remainder. However, land fragmentation is an increasing trend as landholdings are divided amongst an ever-increasing population with the result that average household landholdings are becoming less able to support a family. Although the trends described above are longer-term changes, some changes occur on a seasonal basis and can cause temporary changes in vulnerability and shifts into and out of poverty.

5.3

Seasonal shifts affecting the well-being of the poor

In an agriculture-based society, and in those that are dependent on the natural resources, seasons have an impact on livelihoods on the side of production and incomes. Expenditure outlays and sources of difficulty such as ill-health also tend to be seasonal. Seasonal changes also affect labour opportunities, patterns of out-migration, incidence of diseases, access to public services and work arrangements. The interaction of these factors means that many poor households experience particular stress, and consequent dangers of permanent impoverishment, at particular times of the year. Across the PPA sites in Balochistan, poor people were exposed and vulnerable to seasonal shifts in prices, income, production, health, and employment. Over the year, their livelihood sources and income earning opportunities varied with the seasons, the cold, the heat, the rain and with longer daylight hours. Different types of activities in different regions were affected by these factors in different ways. Local analysts in Kharan divided their year into four parts: Tomshan (seeding or autumn season); Chillag (winter season); Bharga (spring season); and

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Jopag (summer or harvesting season). They explained that in Tomshan, health problems increase due increases in the number of scorpions, snakes, and flies that cause diarrhoea in children. In this season they do less labour and use less food. During Chillag animals fall sick due to the extreme cold and insufficient food, firewood is harder to find and more expensive to buy, and their economic condition begins to weaken gradually. Stored food begins to decrease and less work is done because it is hard to work during the winter months. In Bharga (spring season) people have enough food if it rains, because the rangelands provide enough fodder for their cattle as a result of which they get enough meat, milk, and other milk products such as khurood, kharees (desi ghee) and curd. In Jopag (summer season), if rainfall is adequate, it is possible to get a good wheat crop. But if there is no rain, few or no crops are produced and this leads to further hard times. Winter in other areas leads to other problems: In urban Quetta, opportunities for wage labour in orchards, on government contracts and in building construction decrease causing a fall in income. At the same time, household expenditure on gas and electricity increases. In rural areas, winter leads to increased demand for firewood, food for the children and warm clothes. Women analysts in Gawadar explained how people are unable to cut firewood from the mountains in winter sue to the weather and have to borrow money from shopkeepers to pay for fuel. Across the PPA sites, health problems such as fever, flu, chest infections and eye problems increase due to the cold and, as a result, expenditure on health services, doctors fees and medicines also increase. However, local analysts in Kachi perceived that they lead a comparatively relaxed life in the first two months of winter because all their crops have been sold and they have a lot of time to relax. When the winter begins to end, water supplies start to decrease and when it eventually runs out completely, households migrate to other areas. A group of women analysts in Kachi stated: We have to migrate to other places and leave our homes unattended. But when everyone migrates, the forests remain untouched and become abundant again. Therefore, when we return the forests provide us with fodder, peesh and wood, which are our main sources of income. In Kahn Zeelag, a sub-site of Awaran, analysts explained that difficulties decrease during the spring. This is generally the case across the PPA sites. Job opportunities appear because people start constructing houses. There is ample grass for the livestock and harvesting of the wheat crop also takes place. With the increase in livestock fodder animals become healthier and give higher yields of milk. Food expenses decrease. However, in Gawadar, female analysts also stated that they sometimes face floods which cause bunds to break. Summer brings both increased opportunities for work and increased health problems. Workloads increase as people prepare the lands for winter, bring

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mud for the plaster of their houses and also collect firewood for the winter. The extreme heat causes health problems and makes it difficult to work. In the late summer cases of malaria increase and employment opportunities also fall again. In Gawadar, the coastal PPA site, analysts explained that in summer fishermen cannot go to sea for three months from June to August because: the sea is very rough and we only have small boats, which have a high risk of sinking. During these three months some fishermen migrate to other places to look for work while most people just stay at home or borrow money from the seth for their household expenditures. Women analysts in Bazdad, a sub-site of Awaran district, perceived autumn to be a difficult season for their livelihood because diseases and health problems increase and children and elderly people suffer most. Clearly, seasonal changes and shifts play an important role in the lives of the poor of Balochistan. Different seasons may have different impacts on livelihood in the PPA sites, some positive and some negative. In some cases, coping mechanisms have been developed by local people over the years, some of which may reduce assets upon which people rely. In other cases, people are less able to cope and become increasingly vulnerable.

5.4

Shocks affecting the well-being of the poor

Unlike difficulties caused seasonal shifts and variations, shocks are sudden events that have unexpected negative impacts on livelihoods. The main shocks faced by the poor in the PPA areas are natural disasters, disruption of income sources, sudden illnesses and accidents or deaths in the family. All these factors are beyond the control of local people. In some cases people have developed coping strategies that mitigate the effects, and in others they have none. Shocks affect men and women, the old and the young, in different ways. Often, the long-term effect of shocks, and of some of the coping strategies adopted, is to reduce the asset base of poor households, making them even more vulnerable and liable to fall into extreme poverty in the future. This makes shocks a very important focus for improvements in public policies that are supposed to provide protection for the vulnerable. 5.4.1 Natural disasters and environmental shocks Drought over the five years preceding the PPA has severely affected the livelihoods of people living in the PPA sites of Balochistan. The drought has had a devastating impact on natural resources; it has hastened environmental degradation and affected livestock, fodder, grass, agriculture, water availability, forest resources, wildlife, birds, and has altered the ecological and natural balance of localities. Although the drought has been persistent over several years, the effects such as livestock deaths, crop failure and water shortages are major shocks to poor people.

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Box 5.1: Different shocks over the years My name is Mohammed Ismail. I am 81 years old and from Kharan. I remember when I was 15 years old in 1935 the earthquake that struck Quetta. Five years later in 1940 there was a flood in our area. The flood stayed for three days, broke our dam and destroyed Rodh. In these times we were financially secure and had enough livestock, which we sold to reconstruct our dam. A year after that flood there was chicken pox in the area. People were worried because they didnt have money for medicine. However, Pakistan came into being at that time and the new Government of Pakistan provided doctors and medicine which reduced the problem. Then in 1953 there was another flood, which damaged our lands and crops. It also affected our cattle. In 1965 there was war between Pakistan and India. At the time our financial condition was fine, but then there was war again in 1971 and we were worried that a bomb would drop in our area. In 1972 there was a big flood, which damaged our life. We had not recovered from that flood when in 1977 there was another flood, which spread different diseases and increased our worries. After that there were droughts for some time although sometimes we had good production from our land. When there were droughts or floods the government helped us. In the time of Benazir, prices started to increase gradually, especially food items. In 1995 there was again a flood, which damaged our livestock and lands. Then there was drought in 1997, which has continued until now. This has destroyed everything.

Livestock are an important asset for the poor in Balochistan. In Panjgur, female analysts explained that grazing land for sheep and goats had vanished and most livestock had perished. Across the PPA sites, analysts said that their intake of meat and milk has fallen significantly since their livestock have died. As a result, diseases have increased and, in particular, childrens health has deteriorated. Animal by-products that are used to produce rugs, hides and carpets have decreased and a vital source of income has declined. Box 5.2: Drought, the loss of livestock and falling into poverty Ghulam Mohammed from Panjgur explained that before the four-year drought he had 150 goats and sheep. His livelihood was totally dependent on these animals but had no problems because he used to sell the livestock to produce an income. But now he has just 10 goats and he has become destitute. Only his eldest son is continuing in school, as he cannot afford to send his other children. He hopes that his eldest son will pass the matriculation exam and will get a government job so that the familys financial burden will be eased. His other two sons now take the remaining goats for grazing, and he and his wife along with their three small daughters make mats. They earn just Rs. 2000 per month.

The drought has also affected crop production in Balochistan. Analysts in Kharan stated that date production, which was one of the main sources of income of the poor, has fallen by one-tenth. One lady respondent stated that

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in her kitchen garden there is only one sunflower. Analysts in Kachi explained that when drought affects their land and crops, they lose their income and have no resources to cultivate their land again. To get out of this problem, they take loans and these debts keep increasing. However, they perceived that a rich person has enough resources to continue to cultivate his land in the case of a natural disaster and can even take steps to avoid damages in the future. Figure 5.2: The consequences of drought
Mountains become barren due to over-cutting of trees and little rain over-grazing rangelands diminish fodder unavailable livestock suffers meat and milk production falls nutrition quality and quantity falls diseases and ill health increase poverty increases Livestock dies effect on livelihood patterns rugs, hides, carpets which used to come from livestock not available poverty increases Agricultural employment falls alternative employment options migration daily wage earners (unskilled labour, hotel work) lower income, family pressures debts rise unable to repay debt have to sell assets, or deal with police poverty increases In isolated regions no relief due to lack of roads and/or government lack of interest poverty increases

In urban areas too, the drought has had negative impacts on the poor. Analysts in Quetta stated that the drought has caused severe water shortages and people have to buy water at Rs. 200 per tank, thus increasing their household expenditure. With no rain, pollution levels were also perceived to have increased, and this has contributed to an increase in skin, lungs, throat and eye diseases. Other natural disaster shocks faced by people in Quetta include earthquakes in 1997 there was a big earthquake in Quetta which caused many lives and properties in the city to be lost, and the livelihoods of the people were severely affected. Just as too little water can have devastating consequences for poor people in Balochistan, so can too much water. Analysts in Nikhal Adinzai explained that it had not rained for four or five years and their lands were just lying wasted. But when it did rain, two months before the PPA, the result was a huge flood that caused devastation to their agricultural land. Another group of women analysts from Lakhmir Mustoi stated that heavy floods destroy crops that have been planted and can also damage houses. Crop loss due to pests and diseases can be another major shock to poor farmers and households in Balochistan. Analysts in Kharan stated that insects damage their crops far more frequently and extensively than floods. In case of wheat, the insects damage the plants in the early stages just after seeding and in the later stages when the crop is ready for harvesting. In case of

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watermelon, insects damage the seeds after they have been sown or the fruit when it becomes ripe. Female analysts in Lakhmir Mustoi said that locusts attack mature crops and that pulse crops are more vulnerable to insects and locusts. A group of men from Kharan said that in their view, locust swarms are the most harmful pests that affect their crops. One male analyst from Kharan explained that: In the past, we prepared the land and sowed it four times, but each time insects spoiled it. As a result our whole harvest was ruined. I had to borrow money from someone to buy some food. Men in Bazdad, a sub-site of Awaran, also indicated that crop damage is a great shock for them. They are fearful when they sow a crop due to the risk of attacks by diseases or natural calamities such as floods or hail. Male analysts in Killa Abdullah said that a number of pests, diseases and weeds affect their crops. Shafta is an insect that attacks vegetables and trees, destroying them. Souz Gul is a weed which grows with the wheat, tomato and potato plants. Crops become weak and yields are low because of these. 5.4.2 Human shocks This phrase refers to sudden damage to the human capabilities or human capital of a household, often the most devastating kind of shock. Healthrelated events are the main causes. The death or illness of a family member, particularly an income earner, can plunge a household into profound poverty. For women especially, the death of their husband or an able-bodied son is a severe shock, which results in many women and their children being forced into extended poverty. Being a widow in Balochistan is a particularly vulnerable condition for a woman. Analysts across the sites indicated that illhealth and disease represent huge shocks in terms of decreasing the ability to earn an income, and increasing expenditure on treatment. Male analysts in Awaran explained that if a person becomes sick they cannot work and earn money. Due to a lack of health services in their area, they also have to take the patient to Karachi and this means spending a lot of money. Analysts explained that in order to cover the costs of medical treatment, they have to borrow money. However, they also stated that people are often unable to pay back these debts, as they do not have adequate income. Being unable to repay loans can result in their creditors informing the police, and then people face police extortion and payment of bribes in order to avoid further punishment. Particular moments in the life-cycle of a household are especially perilous from the perspective of human shocks. For example, the elderly and very young are particularly vulnerable to illness and disease. They also rely more heavily on others to support them in times of crisis.

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Box 5.3: The death of a bread-winner Rasti is 70 years old. She had four sons and they were all living together. They used to do labouring and supported the whole family: life was satisfactory. Then one day a snake bit her elder son, but they had no transport to take him to hospital. Her son died. He had four daughters and they all now live with Rasti. Rasti explained her situation: When my eldest son was alive, he kept all of my family united. But after his death my other three sons started to live apart and they are now passing through very hard days My life has become tough. I have no source of income to support myself. My three sons are not able to support their nieces and me. The daughters of my eldest son demand new clothes and shoes from me on the occasion of Eid but I have no money to fulfil their demands.

5.4.3 Economic shocks Employment is an important source of livelihood in both the urban and many rural PPA sites. The sudden loss of a job, or an enforced retirement, is therefore an important type of livelihood shock. In the PPA sites, it is rare for employment to be secure. In rural Killa Abdullah, for example, the drought has resulted in a decline in the availability of agricultural employment, the main source of employment in the area. Men now have to seek employment in alternative professions, and are forced to migrate looking for work and have to work in coal mines, hotels and as daily wage earners many miles away from home. This has resulted in social and domestic problems increasing. Women, in particular, felt that the going away of their men was bad for them and for their family life. In Killa Abdullah many people used to have small orchards or work in orchards but are now forced into debt in order to survive.

5.5

Moving into and out of poverty

Whilst poverty is a prominent, often dominant, fixture across the Balochistan sub-sites, analysts reported that movements into and out of poverty do occur. These movements can be both long-term (eg over a lifetime) or occur much more frequently. Livelihood strategies are frequently undermined by the types of trends and shocks discussed above and rendered unsuitable as mechanisms to cope with seasonal stress periods and life-cycle obligations (eg dowries, weddings, Eid, funerals). For many households, even those considered better-off, one shock an illness, natural disaster or theft, for instance can initiate a vicious circle of asset liquidation and debt from which it is often difficult, if not impossible, to escape.

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Box 5.4: From affluence to poverty Mehraban is the eldest of four brothers in Adinzai. They used to have about 200 cattle and many camels, which enabled them to lead an affluent life. Four years ago, however, their livestock suffered from disease and died in the drought. Now Mehraban and his brothers are earning only enough to buy bread. They have borrowed about Rs. 300,000 from various sources and have to face the consequences if they cannot repay. Mehraban and his brothers feel in a helpless situation.

A group of women analysts in Bazdad, the poorest sub-site in Awaran District, perceived that the drought has caused many better-off people to fall into poverty: even if the rich own land, it cannot be cultivated well due to the lack of water and they can become poor. The persistent drought over the four years preceding the PPA has pushed many people into, or further into, poverty. Box 5.5: Drought, agriculture and livestock Rozi, a resident of Gawadar District, explained that he had a piece of land and some livestock from which he earned his livelihood. However, the drought has badly affected his livelihood his lands are barren due to the lack of rain and most of his livestock have perished. He now cuts dried trees and sells firewood at the Pasni market where he earns just Rs. 100.

At the same time, however, even vulnerable livelihoods can be strengthened through positive trends and events such as expanding public sector or overseas labour markets, or improved educational opportunities. In many cases individuals and households only temporarily achieve higher levels of well-being before falling back into poverty in some cases, however, the move out of poverty is more permanent. Employment overseas, particularly in the Gulf States, was perceived to be one way in which individuals and households could move out of poverty. However, this option often requires higher levels of human, financial, and social capital than the poor and very poor have access to. In some cases, however, employment in the Gulf only resulted in temporary improvements in well-being. One analyst explained that many people had gone to Dubai and when they returned had brought large amounts of money with them. Some had purchased a pick-up and some started other businesses. But as they were illiterate, their businesses failed and they suffered big losses, and so they became poor again. In Gawadar District, analysts also claimed that an increase in the accessibility of markets had enabled an increase in well-being for those in the fishing trade. Since communication and transportation facilities to Karachi have improved, fish buyers from Karachi and elsewhere have been coming in more frequently to Gawadar, making advance payments and providing loans to fishermen and boat owners. There was agreement amongst analysts that this

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has resulted in some families prospering, but it has also resulted in the debt burden of many households increasing and causing higher levels of vulnerability, or hardship. A group of male analysts in Bazdad, the poorest sub-site in Awaran, perceived that people can move out of poverty if government institutions and basic services such as schools, hospitals, agriculture and livestock departments are accessible to them. Box 5.6: Moving out of poverty skills, investment and opportunity Haji Saleem was a poor man. He has eight brothers and 18 years ago, his father dies and his land was distributed among them. Haji Saleem is skilled as a mechanic and at the time of his fathers death, Rs. 5000 was given to him by his uncle. He repaired one motorcycle and opened a shop when he had earned some money. He then obtained one petrol vehicle and hired it out from city to village. After sometime, he bought a Toyota pickup for Rs.100,000 from which he got some income. Then, after a while, he bought a van in place of the pickup and rented it out from Killa Saifullah to Barat Khail. Now he lives a good life. He has repaid the debt owed by himself and his family, and also paid the instalments on his vehicle. They are running a flourishing business and are enjoying the fruit of their labour. After a miserable life he is now leading a rather comfortable one, even during the drought.

Box 5.7: Moving out of poverty migration and remittances In Adinzai, the poorest sub-site in Loralai District, there is a man of eighty years named Jalalai. He used to live in a large, poor family. As their village was affected by drought, so they became poorer. His sons and nephews would always ask him to leave the village and go to some other place where they could find opportunities for earning money. Jalalai did not want to leave his native place but at last he allowed his sons and nephews to go to Punjab to earn money. All the family left for Punjab except Jalalai and one of his sons. When they got there they started doing labouring work, baking bricks in furnaces. Over the last five years they have gradually become better-off. Now they have a vehicle and a house in Musakhail Bazaar. Their children are getting education in schools. Jalalai is still living in his native village and his children come to visit him now and then. They regularly send him money and other necessities of life.

There were a handful of individual and specific cases arising from the PPA which indicated that some of the poor have moved permanently out of poverty but these were few and far between. For the most part, the stories from Balochistan were of those where more and more people and communities have been pushed into, or further into, poverty.

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CHAPTER SIX SOCIO-ECONOMIC RELATIONS

6.1 Introduction

Social and economic relationships are essential to the human condition. Other people are essential to our survival providing physical assistance, economic interaction and support, as well as comfort and meaning. However they can also be the source of insecurity, loss and danger. Either way, social groupings, social interactions and social networks are central to understanding the way people live. The Balochistan PPA provided ample confirmation of these general truths. This chapter explores the situation of women in the PPA sites in Balochistan, emphasising the different perceptions among men and women, and within the sites. In the second part of the chapter, power relations within the community, sources of power, and the basis for social exclusion are analysed.

6.2

The situation of poor women

The role and status of women in Balochistan was the subject of analysis by PPA participants across the sites. The results of this analysis varied both across sites and between different groups of analysts. In general, there were contradictory perceptions depending upon the gender of the analysts, and between different sites. Female analysts in Bazdad, the poorest sub-site in Awaran District, perceived that in the past women were worse off: they had to work hard and spend many hours doing household tasks, fetching water and firewood, grinding wheat by hand, and weaving mats from peesh bushes. They perceived that in the past, women were not respected by men and they were not allowed to make any decisions. They also stated that male dominance has decreased, and men were more aware now than in the past. At the same time, however, these analysts also perceived that women were healthier in the past (largely because they had healthier food) and that women had more mobility, but now men restrict their mobility. It appears then, that in certain areas women felt they were better-off now than in the past, whilst in others the quality of life for women had declined. In some areas, for instance perceptions of male attitudes towards women, the sentiments expressed by the analysts appear contradictory. One reason given for the perceived reduction in workload of women was the persistent drought conditions that have prevailed in Balochistan over the years preceding the PPA. Women no longer have to work in the fields as well as in the home because the demand for agricultural labour has fallen. However, this does not necessarily mean that if the drought ended, women would not have to go back to all the additional tasks they were doing before. However, the drought has also placed increasing emphasis in some sites on the productive role of women: for instance, women are doing more embroidery work for commercial purposes than in the past. Whilst this may
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benefit the household, the effects on women may be detrimental common complaints were that this work leads to eye problems and shoulder pain. In some sites, the introduction of electricity was perceived to have made life easier for women. In Gul Khan (Killa Abdullah), for instance, analysts felt that electricity has made cooking and heating easier. The main occupations of women needlework, embroidery and sewing are now done on machines. Lassi (butter milk) was made by hand in the past but now is made using electric machines. Rich women were perceived to have easier lives today than poor women: they can afford domestic servants to work for them. In Pushtoon Darah, the poorest sub-site in urban Quetta, a group of women said that household responsibilities and tasks have not changed in the last 20 years. Women do the same tasks now as in the past. The only difference is that certain living conditions have changed in the past there were no modern facilities so life was more difficult. However, women analysts also said that with the advent of modern amenities, other problems have emerged. Water, gas and electricity bills have all added to household expenses. 6.2.1 Women, power and decision-making The mixed perceptions discussed above regarding the changes in well-being of women over the years generally refer to types of work undertaken and health status. However, in terms of status or position within the household and community, women are generally severely discriminated against in Balochistan. Women suffer disproportionately from a lack of access to basic services, especially education and health; they have little or no access to justice, even through informal institutions; their mobility is restricted; and they have no influence in decision-making processes, even with regard to their own marriages. Women analysts explained that in most cases parents make a decision about marriage. The decisions of older men take precedence over young males, but in most cases even younger men have more authority and power than older women. Young women have no decision making power at all. Sometimes a close male relative, or a young brother, is asked to make a decision for his sister. Women rarely make decisions, however poor women felt that rich women had more authority and power to make decisions. In Kharan District there is a special term used for a woman who can take part in the decision making process. She is called a Roohdar, and is an old woman. She does not have complete power and her decisions can be overruled by men but in comparison to other women, she has more authority and is part of the decision making process. One 30-year-old female analyst, Bibi Hoori, explained the decision-making authority of older women as follows: In the past, the old women had a larger role in decision-making. They also had authority in marriages of boys and girls. This role has gradually changed. Now, if an old woman is in good health then she is asked her opinion, but her decision is less valued.

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6.2.2 Bride price women as commodities and the violent results The tradition of valwar literally, bride price was mentioned by female analysts in Pushtoon Darah, the poorest sub-site in urban Quetta, as an important part of their culture. However, it has negative effects on both men and women. A man has to be able to afford to pay the bride price, and a woman is sold into a marriage. She has no decision or choice in her marriage. In effect, the tradition of valwar encourages and perpetuates the view that women are mere commodities and has serious consequences on womens status within society. Women analysts in Killa Saifullah said that due to the high price of valwar, people are tempted to marry their young daughters to old or disabled men. They added: If valwar was not practiced, we would never give our daughters to old and disabled men. The preacher of the village also takes valwar even though there is no concept of valwar in Islam. The preachers have adopted a unique method they take valwar and orally grant the land of equal value to daughters. Then it is up to the girl if she grants this land to her husband or to her father, but she usually gives it to her father. By doing this, preachers tell us that they have adopted Islamic methods. Women have no control over the money paid as valwar instead the male members of her family spend it however they wish. From a social perspective, if a woman does not take valwar then she is taunted and treated without respect she is perceived as a person of no value. Analysts in Nawai Bazaar, the better-off sub-site in Loralai District, stated that as a result of the practice of valwar, a woman is like a slave and helpless she has to suffer cruel treatment from her in-laws, but because she cannot leave the house without her husbands or in-laws permission, her mobility is restricted and she is unable to seek justice. Some women in Quetta explained that if valwar has not been paid, women were in a better position within the marriage they could even raise their voice to their husband. If valwar has been paid, however, men view women as possessions. Women often bear the beatings of their husbands and are sometimes even killed. Stories of torture and violence against women were common. However, the police remain largely unaware of these crimes or, if they do hear about them, are unwilling to deal with them properly. I live with my parents and my five children. My husband works in a foreign country and comes once or twice a year. At this time he gives me some money but he also tortures me and beats me up. He threatens me with a second marriage. My family and I cannot stop him from getting married a second time because my parents have taken valwar. (A poor woman, Quetta)

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Whilst one group of women in Qaisar Colony, the better-off sub-site in Quetta, felt that there was more domestic violence in the past, women in Kharan District felt that due to the increase in the availability and use of drugs, men have become more violent. However, while this may have increased cases, the fact remains that culture and tradition have to a large extent legitimised these unacceptable crimes against women for many years. Women analysts in Loralai District perceived that the practice of men taking second wives causes many problems, especially if the second wife is younger than the first. They perceived that a second wife and her children are cared for more than the first. Not all households practice valwar it is more common in Pushtoon households, and perceived to be less common in better-off or rich households. The degree of education of both the woman and her parents was also perceived to have an influence on the practice. Households with higher levels of education were less likely to engage in the practice. The negative impacts of bride price are not solely confined to women. Inability to pay a good price for a suitable bride is one of the strongest indications of poverty. The pressures to pay bride price puts men into large debt that may take many years to repay. In some cases the repercussions affect a couples daughters, as they are often sold to repay valwar debts or given as part of bride price itself. Box 6.1: The impact of valwar a male perspective Abdul Khair of Killa Abdullah was born in 1958. For the first 15 years of his life he used to be a shepherd. After that he started to work in a coal mine. When he reached 30, he had 17 other family members. He got engaged at the age of 30 and the valwar (bride-price) was agreed at Rs. 200,000. He stayed engaged for 7 years because he didnt have the money to pay for the bride. He finally borrowed money and got married in 1997. His wife died in 2001 after giving birth to a fifth child. He got engaged again and agreed to pay Rs. 170,000 and the hand of his four-year-old daughter as a part of the bride deal. Since he is older and a widower, he had to pay a much higher price for a bride. He is still returning the loan he took for his first marriage. His daily wage is just Rs. 100 and he has to regularly borrow from the local grocer to make ends meet. The price of the second bride is all but impossible for him to pay. His only hope is for his other daughter to grow up so he can earn some money by marrying her off at a good price.

Ironically, bride pricing is often justified by saying that it is aimed to discourage polygamy and the exploitation of women. However, many analysts noted that there is great societal pressure on every man to find a suitable bride, and staying single or a widower for a man is perceived to be wrong and causes him to suffer from social exclusion. A household without women is termed as incomplete. Being unable to afford a bride price is also considered an indicator of poverty.

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6.3

Power and socio-economic relations

Local power relations play a central role in shaping poor peoples lives. The distribution of political capital (see Section 4.6) in a community is based on several interrelated factors. Of particular importance are gender, class, wealth, land and tribal identity. Whilst the rich have more power than the poor, rich men have more power than rich women, and poor men have more power than poor women. Land was considered the most important source of power across the PPA sites in Balochistan. In Panjgur District, for instance, a group of analysts explained that most of the land in their village belonged to one family. The villagers worked as tenants on the land of the landlords. The stated that: We dont even have the right to build a house on the barren land. As these people have more land, they use floodwater to irrigate their land and we have no access to or control over this. In Kachi District, both female and male analysts stated that the most influential person in their village was the landlord. All the land in the village belonged to the landlord, and he was the main person who solved the disputes in the area. In Bazdad, the poorest sub-site in Awaran District, male analysts said that the majority of people worked as tenants on the land of landlords. The landlord had power, and the more land he had the greater his power. Male analysts in Awaran also added that certain people had access to natural resources because they had allotted the forests in their names, and without their permission the poor could not collect firewood. They said that these people had access to and control over the mountains and to the peesh. They also had access to the karez water for drinking and for their livestock. Local people said that the government should not allow these influential people to take control of the natural resources because then the poor do not get anything. Where large landholdings are in the hands of the few, many people work as tenants. Often landlords provide loans to tenants but the debt is paid back in the form of labour and resulting in extremely inequitable labour relationships, or bonded labour. The landlord gives us as much as we need, but we are restricted because of this. We work for him on low wages until we are able to repay his loan, so in this way we become a prisoner. (Female analysts, Awal Hashim, Kachi District) Tribal structures are also a significant determinant of power: analysts in Awaran expressed their view that tribal social structure keeps women oppressed, and does not allow the poor to move out of poverty: tribal leaders have all the power, resources, and influence in the community.

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However, in Kharan District a group of women analysts said that the sardar is the chief, and they have complete faith in him. He is powerful because he is the sardar he solves all the disputes in the community, and helps the poor both socially and economically. In Killa Saifullah District, a group of male analysts stated that the malik (chief) was the head of four sub-tribes (Mazgha Peerzai, Barakzai, Khuwachakzai, and Musazai) within the Batozai tribe. The malik has the most power in the village and he resolves any disputes over land, water, or within the family. He has also done a lot of social work such as building a school, dispensary, a road, and a water channel. His source of power is his tribal authority within the community. Other individuals in Killa Saifullah are powerful not because of their tribal position but because of their religious status, for instance the maulvi (priest) and the Imam of the village mosque. The Imam performs all the matrimonial and funeral rites, and has linkages with the Jamiat-e-ulama-e-Islam, a political party. In Gawadar, local analysts said the head of the Zikris, a religious sect, was the most powerful person in the village. The spiritual leader of the Zikri clan has a lot of respect in the area, and is also an important person analysts in Gawadar credited him with constructing a boundary wall around the graveyard, a road, and a drinking water storage tank. We obey his instructions and if he decides to vote for a certain party or person, we do whatever he tells us to do. We approach him for our day-to-day problems. (An old man, Gawadar District) Male analysts also said that the present district nazim has influence in the area and he also belongs to the Zikri clan. He takes part in decision-making and is approached to solve problems. They also said that an ex- Member Provincial Assembly (MPA) also had some power because his political party is very strong. He had constructed a boys and girls school and visited the area regularly. In Awaran District, analysts said that there was a nawab who did not belong to the community, but had a lot of influence in the community because he was the nawab of all the Pashtoon tribes. This nawab also did social work for the poor, and was a popular individual. Female analysts said there is one particular person in the village who helps the poor by giving them credit and wheat flour however, he also decides who should stand in the election. He takes our problems and issues to the government because the government officers listen to him. (Female analysts, Awaran District) It is clear that many local analysts perceived that particular individuals are often responsible for certain initiatives or development activities in their villages. These individuals are able to use their links with government and political parties, their political capital, to obtain benefits for the local community however, the result is that people in turn are expected to obey

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the influential individual, even to the extent of voting according to his wishes. Whilst many of these relationships may be benefiting the poor in terms of enabling access to government institutions through an individuals links and contacts, many others also appear to be highly unequal and, therefore, unlikely to result in the long-term movement of people or communities out of poverty. Formal positions of authority in government institutions or bodies are also a source of power in Balochistan. For instance, the nazim of the Tehsil is also an important person analysts in Kachi District said they have access to their nazim in times of crisis. In Pushtoon Darah, the poorest sub-site of Quetta, women analysts said that the local representatives of the area for instance the councillors had more power due to their political power. A group of young male analysts also said that the most influential person in their sub-site was the nazim and naib nazim of the union council. While land, therefore, is the most important source of power in Balochistan, other sources include religion, political authority, tribal affiliations, and power emanating from local government. In most cases the poor see their tribal leaders as both autocratic and, at the same time, as the only source of charity, safety, protection, and mediation in disputes. Analysts were aware that powerful people often exploit them and have complete control over local resources and assets, but the poor accept it as their fate. Religious persons are seen mainly as spiritual leaders and have a different sort of authority that is confined to marriage and funeral rites, and family matters. The nazims of the area have power within the local government system and are able to initiate development work. Some other individuals with political power have influence in the PPA sub-sites but the most powerful people are landowners and tribal leaders.

6.4

Social exclusion, organisation and cohesion

Social and political exclusion have severe implications on the well-being of people. Local analysts across the PPA sites perceived that exclusion based on various factors exists in decision-making and participation in social events and ceremonies. Women, in particular, are socially, politically and economically excluded by not being allowed to participate in decision-making. They cannot share equally in the benefits of education and health services. People from lower castes are also socially excluded on the basis of their social status. They have no say in any kind of decision-making, nor are they respected or heard. In Awaran, as in many of the PPA sites, analysts stated that the poor hardly have a voice: they are not consulted on any matter and instead are considered foolish and illiterate. The government officers and elite have no information about our problems and priorities. They never sit with the poor and ask us about our problems they impose their decisions and our problems remain unsolved. (A male analyst, Awaran District)

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In Pushtoon Darah, the poorest sub-site in urban Quetta, a group of male analysts explained that because the poor are excluded from the decision making process of development schemes in the area, only the rich are consulted and therefore infrastructural development only takes place in the villages of the rich. In Joisar, the poorest sub-site in Panjgur District, poor analysts felt that not only are they deprived of their rights because they are considered low caste, but they are also excluded from village social events. Analysts explained that the elite keep them deprived of rights and benefits. They said that the rich even taunt them by saying, the poor have no rights because God has created them as low. Even within families, social status is a cause of discrimination and exclusion. In Quetta, a group of local analysts stated that the rich consider their poor relatives and neighbours to be of a low status and so they never join together for social events. The poor are also hesitant to call the rich to their social events because they are poor they are afraid of humiliation and think the rich will refuse to attend anyway. Not only is poverty a cause of social exclusion, but social exclusion also has a strong impact on well-being and prevents poor people moving out of poverty by blocking possible opportunities. Social capital is an important asset of poor people. Informal systems of safety nets, of social cohesion, and social protection, are more important to the poor than formal government institutions. Informal systems are considered more effective and easily accessible to the poor. There are often higher levels of social capital and cohesion within clans, castes or tribes than between groups. A group of women analysts in Kallag, the poorest sub-site in Gawadar District, said that the women of the village got together at times of marriage, deaths, sickness, and the birth of a child. They were of the Zikri clan, and would pray together. The Zikri women felt that as a community they were united, and when someone was sick they contributed financially so that the individual was taken to the hospital. They recalled that in the past everyone in the village would meet for a wedding, but now this custom has declined, because a lot of people have migrated, there is less time for social events, and the people are poorer. In the past the custom of bajjar existed, in which goats or money was given to the married couple. Now due to rising prices, this custom hardly exists anymore. In Kalmat, the better-off sub-site in Gawadar, a group of women said they would meet during Eid, and if a death occurred in a family, the women would spend three days at the home of the deceased to pray. During this time the women of the community also sent food and money to the family. The women of this particular community felt that their social cohesion was getting stronger because they were a minority community. This was in comparison to other communities within the area.

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In Kallag, a group of men of the Zikri clan said they were minorities, and therefore there was a lot of unity, and social cohesion among them. They had established an informal community based organisation (CBO) at the village level called Kallag Social Welfare. This did charity work, ran a tuition centre, adult literacy classes, and helped the poor by taking sick people to the hospital, and vaccinating children. One male member of the organisation stated: We began this CBO so that our voices can be heard the poor and uneducated people have no respect in the formal institutions. A group of men in Kalmat said that there were many formal organisations in the community, but that they all belonged to the Zikri community. In times of disputes the villagers got together and approached the government collectively. These male analysts agreed with the women that social cohesion was getting stronger. However, they realised that this was only within their immediate Zikri community, and did not reflect the wider society. In other PPA sites in Balochistan, analysts perceived social cohesion to be declining. A group of men in Kharan District stated that during a marriage the brides family used to give camels and date trees to the grooms family. Wealthy people used to help their poor relatives in such cases. In the past when a person got ill, everyone would visit him. When there were disputes within the community, the biradari would try to resolve the conflict. Death and grief were shared with everyone, and the deceased persons family was helped during this crisis. In the past people used to live together, and there was harmony on all occasions, happy and sad. Everyone participated equally and would not make others feel as though they did not belong to the same tribe. But now people just neglect these things and when they want any aid or assistance they just ask help from each other. (Male analyst, Loralai) In the past our social relations were strong but now they have become very weak. The reason is that the poor are getting poorer, and cannot afford to spend on these occasions. (An old woman, Kharan District) Similarly, an old man from Awaran said that social cohesion was declining. He said that in the past when someone was sick all the villagers would go to his house and ask about his welfare. In the past people used to help each other in an emergency or lend a hand in any difficulty and people would cooperate with each other in the sowing and harvesting of crops. The custom of ashar (working together) where people used to build their houses collectively has also declined.

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Twenty years ago people used to meet in the evenings. If someone died then everyone in the village would come for condolences, but now they only come to the funerals of the rich. (An influential male analyst, aged 80, Loralai District) However in the urban sub-site of Loralai another man felt differently. He felt that, society had changed and social cohesion has increased. He felt that now in towns people live closer to one another even if they belong to different tribes. They look after each other and take care of each others needs. An old man from Panjgur also felt that social cohesion had improved in the present times. He said that if a person does not go to the mosque, others ask about him, and if he is sick then they visit him. In the past the villages were scattered and there was little contact between people. It appears that while some analysts perceived that social cohesion has increased over time, others felt that it had declined. There was no uniformity among men and women either; perceptions appeared to be based on personal opinions and individual experiences.

6.5

Crime and conflict

We the poor do not get any justice, so we become thieves and dacoits. (A shepherd, Killa Abdullah District)

The incidence of crime and conflict has increased in the preceding 20 30 years. Both male and female analysts across the PPA sites said that theft, kidnappings, and murder had all increased and had led to a greater level of insecurity in their lives. A group of men in Pushtoon Darah said that the main crimes in their area are thefts, robberies, murders, and kidnapping. They added that drug addiction and trafficking had also increased, which had led to more crime and conflict. Drugs are smuggled from Afghanistan into Quetta, and local influential people are involved in this trade. The police are also aware of the drug business but do not control it because they are getting part of the profits. The most dangerous aspect of this is that the drug traffickers offer free drugs to young men in the area, to get them addicted and promote their trade. Corruption and bribery are also rampant and no official work can be conducted without bribes. Analysts explained that the police even allowed criminals to escape from prison by taking bribes. Similarly, kidnapping incidents increased in the 1990s and have become a common problem. This increase in crime was attributed to unemployment and growing poverty. Male analysts said that they were afraid to leave their village after dark, and wanted the government to enforce strict laws against drug trafficking. In China Barat Khail, the poorest sub-site in District Killa Saifullah, women analysts said that crime had increased over the preceding 10 years. They also felt that conflict had risen among people in the community because people had become poorer. Unemployment, no alternative source of livelihood, and the current drought had led to more social conflict.

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Conflict was perceived to be of three types: within the family, within the community, and between different tribes. Male analysts in Killa Saifullah felt that 15 years ago there was less conflict within the family; population increases, falling incomes, and less social cohesion between families, led to further conflict within the community; and tribal conflict was often based on land distribution between tribes. One analyst said that in the past when there was conflict amongst tribes or families it would be solved through negotiations and mutual consultation of the community members. Now, however, he perceived that every person insists that they can solve their problems by themselves and accepting another persons opinion is considered a weakness. An old man in the poorest sub-site of Loralai District remarked that, during the ten years preceding the PPA, hostilities have increased enormously between tribes. Hundreds of people have died in conflicts and his whole village was forced to migrate. He felt that land disputes are one of the main reasons for this level of hostility and tribal conflict. A woman analyst also felt that land disputes and fights over the distribution of water were the main causes of conflict. In urban Quetta, male analysts said that in 1985 there was a clash between the Hazara community and the police. This affected them as they lived near the Hazara community, and daily wage labour and businesses had suffered. In 1986 there were Pashtoon and Muhajir clashes in Karachi, and hundreds of Pashtoon families moved to Quetta for security reasons. In 1991 there were further clashes between the Baloch and Pashtoon tribes, the largest ethnic groups in the city: At least 12 people were killed during those clashes. There was a curfew in the city for many days and our livelihood was disrupted. Many shops were burnt. These clashes caused a lot of tension in the whole area and the city remained closed for many days. (Male analyst, Quetta) Analysts stated that Quetta is a big city and is very politically and socially sensitive. There are strikes and protests held at different times, and these incidents affect peoples livelihoods. Many are forced to take loans to survive. Across the PPA sites, crimes such as theft and robbery were perceived to have increased. Analysts gave many examples of livestock being stolen, houses being robbed, people being kidnapped and murders. This has led to increasing feelings of insecurity amongst the poor in many PPA sites. When we go anywhere on foot or motorcycle we are at a great risk because sometimes our motorcycle and jewellery are robbed, and we risk being killed. When we sleep our goods are unsafe because of the high crime rate. Our cattle, and motorcycles have been stolen at gunpoint. (Women analysts, Kharan District)

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Analysts stated that people now use weapons such as Kalashnikovs in their disputes. Theft, dacoity, the robbing of cars and motorbikes at gunpoint are common incidents and have increased with the influx of weapons and the situation in Afghanistan. The use and storage of unlicensed arms, drug trafficking, and gambling have all increased. An underlying cause for these problems was poverty, the men said. A poor person has to protect himself, so he buys weapons; he is unemployed so he deals in drugs, because this is an easy way to get rich quickly. In Killa Abdullah, a group of men said that corruption and bribes were the cause of all crimes and conflict in the community. They said that a poor person cannot go to the police station to lodge an FIR without bribing the officers. Analysts also perceived that influential people are involved in crimes and therefore, many crimes are unlikely to solved due to the corruption of the police.

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CHAPTER SEVEN INSTITUTIONS

7.1 Introduction

Institutions include both structures (eg organisations, levels of government) and processes (policies, laws, social norms). Institutions, policies and legislation play a vital role in determining poverty and well-being, creating an environment which determines the livelihood patterns of people in a particular local context. Of central importance is the extent to which institutions hinder or facilitate different peoples efforts to secure livelihoods. Institutions can affect: access to capital and livelihood strategies; terms of exchange between different types of capital; returns to livelihood strategies; and, sense of inclusion, citizenship, well-being. Institutions operate at all levels, from individual to international, and in both the public and private spheres, shaping livelihood strategies and outcomes. There are governmental institutions, non-governmental institutions (or civil society), and private sector (or commercial) institutions. Within government, civil society and the private sector, institutions can be formal (eg codified laws; government health strategy; registered community organisation with agreedupon rules) and informal (eg uncodified norms; loose networks of batchmates within government). In Balochistan, local analysts identified institutions from all of these sectors as significant in their lives and livelihoods, although institutions differ in terms of importance, accessibility and quality. In this chapter, institutions are organised by their function in terms of local peoples livelihoods ie the good or service that the institution provides. In most cases, governmental institutions play a central (if often unsatisfactory) role and these are discussed first, with details of any civil society or private sector institutions following.

7.2

Educational institutions

The government is the main provider of education in the Balochistan sites. There is also a school for girls established with the help of an NGO in Joisar. However, across the PPA sites, analysts were highly critical of the quantity, quality and accessibility of educational facilities and services. Whilst critical of current provision of education, analysts also had clear ideas of what an ideal school should have and provide. Analysts in the sub-sites of Kachi explained that an ideal school should have buildings with doors and windows (the school at Kallag has no doors and windows), furniture, free books and pencils for students, Muallam (religious teacher) and good teachers. They said that the Muallam should impart religious education, which will increase the love of Islam in the younger generations. Analysts perceived that having good teachers in a school would ensure good quality education.

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Across the PPA sites, there were inadequate numbers of accessible schools for children. Male analysts in Pushtoon Darah, the poorest sub-site in Quetta, stated that the population of their union council is about 60,000 for which there is only one government primary school for boys, and no primary school for girls. Even the primary school that does exist is incomplete and lacking electricity, water, and furniture. Analysts went on to explain that due to a lack of basic facilities in the school, the students have lost interest in education and pass their time playing video games, becoming involved in drugs and becoming vagabonds. They said that one of the main causes of increasing crime is a lack of education in their area. In Kachi too, female analysts stated that in the school there were no books, takhti, and silate available free to the children. Children demand these from their parents but poor households are unable to afford them so the children just stay at home. Some women said that a few children do go to school but the quality of education is not good and often during the school time they come back home. At such times, the parents try to send them back to school but the teachers also do not take any interest in the children or the school. Analysts perceived that their children learn nothing at home or at school due to which their future is hopeless. The quality and commitment of both teaching and education management staff was criticised widely across the sites. In Awaran, analysts said that teachers are usually absent and the students just go to school, sit idle and then go back home; in Kahn Zeelag, the teachers are not punctual; in Gawadar, a teacher is only present two-three days per month; and in Joisar, the poorest sub-site of Panjgur, a group of women explained how a school had been opened by an NGO about three years prior to the PPA two teachers had been appointed but one had not been to work for the preceding year, while the other was only present for a few days each month. In many instances where staff absenteeism was a problem, analysts stated that the education authorities and officials rarely visited the schools to monitor the performance and quality of the teachers. Even when visits were made, analysts stated that action against absent teachers is rare. Analysts in Awaran said that when parents complain to education officers, they are just told that the teacher is appointed by the nazim or has connections with a certain political party. They explained that one day the Sub-Divisional Educational Officer came for an inspection of the school and found the teacher absent but no action was taken against him. Although educational opportunities are low for children across the PPA sites, the situation is particularly bad for girls. Only one site, Gawadar, had any post-primary education facilities for girls (see Table 4.2). We cant send our girls to a boys school. We will send our girls to school if there is a female teacher appointed in the school. (Women analysts, Kahn Zeelag, Awaran District) Many analysts, particularly women, expressed the desire to provide an education for their female children, but preferred separate facilities for boys

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and girls. An exception perhaps is in Killa Abdullah where analysts said that 17 girl students are currently studying in the boys primary school. However, even in this site, whilst a majority of the analysts were interested in educating their girls most are deprived of education because there are no separate educational facilities for girls. We want our girls to be educated so that they have a better life in society and help their families by working. (A group of women, Joisar, Panjgur District) If we had a girls school, our girls would be educated like you (field team), and our difficulties decrease as they could also earn an income. (A group of women analysts, Killa Saifullah District) In Kachi District, one male analyst explained that a few people from the area had managed to get a teacher for the girls school and paid the teacher themselves. Their girls are getting a good education and are now teaching in government schools. However, the demand for female education was not uniform across the sites. Women analysts from Mashriqi Zawag, the better-off sub-site in Kharan District, explained that there was no post-primary level school for girls in their village, because of which girls are unable to continue education after the 5th class. However, they also stated that: Our culture does not allow us to send daughters to school, and secondly, we have low educational standards because of which we do not like sending our girls to school.

7.3

Health institutions

The provision of accessible healthcare facilities in the PPA sites of Balochistan is inadequate. Many sub-sites do not even have a Basic Health Unit (BHU) or dispensary. In those sub-sites that do, the quality of service is often poor. Staff are often absent and medicines, if they are available, too expensive for the poor. People in many sub-sites have to travel outside their area to obtain even basic medical treatment and care. Male analysts in Joisar and Katagari, both sub-sites of Panjgur, explained that if they get sick and go to the BHU, a doctor is not usually present. Even if he is present, there are no medicines available. Analysts perceived that medicines are available only one week in every three months. The result is that although BHUs are present in both sub-sites, people have to go to Panjgur even for a minor health problem. Analysts across the sub-sites explained that the situation was the same in their areas. In Soomari, there is a BHU building but it has no doors, windows or, most importantly, staff. In Awaran too, analysts said that the BHU was just an empty building and the staff remain absent. Analysts said that the easy

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availability of health services was essential to the poor, as illness is a major cause of their vulnerability and does not allow them to get out of poverty. With no, or unsatisfactory, health services available locally, people are forced to seek medical treatment elsewhere. Even in nearby towns, however, health services are often still unsatisfactory. Analysts in Soomari said that the ill have to go all the way to Karachi as there are no facilities even in the Awaran RHC. This increases the costs considerably. This often means that the poor have either to sell assets or borrow money to be able to afford medical care. As with the provision of education, women in the Balochistan sub-sites suffer disproportionately from a lack of proper healthcare due to the cultural context of the area. Women analysts in Nawai Bazaar, the better-off sub-site of Loralai, explained that: Being a tribal society, a majority of the women cannot go to a male doctor. There is a dire need for a permanent and competent lady doctor and Lady Health Visitor. Female analysts in Gawadar perceived that women face more difficulties than men because they suffer from more diseases and there is no female doctor available. Whenever complications occur during childbirth, women usually die even before reaching the hospital, especially as there are often problems arranging transportation. The poor quality of roads also makes traveling long distances for medical treatment difficult. Traditional birth assistants (TBAs) are available in some areas but are not able to deal with complicated cases. Female analysts in Killa Abdullah said that a local midwife attends to delivery cases. She is able to effectively handle normal cases but does not have the capacity to deal with complicated cases. She refers complicated cases to female doctors in the city. Analysts in Awaran District said that there are numerous health problems for women especially during pregnancy but due to the absence of a lady doctor and trained midwives men take their women to Karachi this increases the costs substantially. However, poor analysts also complained that the treatment they received from professional medical staff was also often unsatisfactory. Analysts in Panjgur stated that because they are poor, the female doctor at Panjgur hospital treats them badly and shows them no respect. Last night my daughter-in-law gave birth to a baby girl. Yesterday I went to the mid-wife and requested her to come but she asked me to first give her Rs. 500. I did not have Rs. 500 and I was very disappointed at her behaviour. I just waited and prayed to God. Now I am thankful to God that everything went well. (A woman, Nawai Bazaar, Loralai District)

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We are poor and so the female doctor at Panjgur hospital does not even talk to us properly. She is very rude and considers us to be worse than animals. On the other hand her behaviour is impeccable when she talks to well-dressed women. (Female analysts, Panjgur District) The midwives take Rs. 1000 for one case. If we do not pay Rs. 1000, she wont come the next time. (Female analyst, Killa Abdullah) Women analysts in Nawai Bazaar, the better-off sub-site in Loralai District, explained that sometimes the staff of medical facilities are also dishonest. Previously two sisters from the Punjab province were working in the hospital as Lady Health Visitors (LHVs). They were not honest. They would sell the medicines of the hospital to the poor patients and take extra money from them. Now there is another LHV, but she too is neither very competent nor honest. (Female analysts, Nawai Bazaar) Analysts had clear ideas of the basic standard of medical facilities they required from the government. An ideal BHU should have all types of medicine available, a trained midwife, operation instruments, and both male and female doctors. Staff should always be present so that in emergencies, people can be treated. Male and female analysts in Adinzai, the poorest subsite on Loralai District, also said that the government policy of providing a dispensary every ten kilometres is not sufficient in a tribal society where women are not allowed to go for treatment in other villages. Moreover being a mountainous area it is very difficult to transport a patient even five kilometres because transportation facilities are not available. They appealed to the government to change its policy and provide a dispensary in each village where the number of households is more than 50.

7.4

Infrastructural institutions

The responsibility for constructing and maintaining basic infrastructure (including roads, water supply, sanitation, electricity and public buildings) lies with various provincial level government bodies. The adequate provision of these forms of infrastructure can have positive benefits, for instance in terms of increasing accessibility to services, improving health status, and reducing workloads. Analysts in Awaran, for example, indicated that the introduction of electricity had brought many positive changes including the establishment of a flourmill, which has resulted in a reduction in the amount of time women have to spend grinding wheat by hand. A water supply scheme had also resulted in the provision of easily available clean water to households. However, across the sub-sites, analysts were generally critical of the institutions responsible for the provision and maintenance of these forms of

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produced capital. They were regarded as both inefficient and, sometimes, corrupt. For instance the water supply scheme in Awaran described above is only functional for six months per year. Analysts stated that people had complained to the government but no action had been taken. A group of analysts in Quetta said that incorrect electricity and gas bills are major problems for poor people because they cannot pay such huge bills. Even when people do not use these facilities extensively, they still receive large bills each month. When they try to address this overcharging with the service provider, they face huge difficulties. Corruption and bribery were mentioned in the case of the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA). Male analysts in Killa Abdullah said that WAPDA sends incorrect bills to them, and when they try to complain, their connections to tubewells are disconnected.

7.5

Credit and financial institutions

Across the PPA sites, analysts stated that both formal and informal institutions exist and provide credit. However, in almost all cases, analysts perceived that formal sources were not accessible to the poor and very poor. Poor people obtain credit from informal sources family, shopkeepers, landlords and money-lenders. Male analysts in Panjgur explained that the poor have no access to formal credit providing institutions because they have no collateral and the procedures are too complicated. Analysts in Khora Chalgari explained that the procedure for obtaining a loan from the Agricultural Development Bank of Pakistan (ADBP) is very complicated: first of all, they have to the deposit legal documents of their lands, then they have to approach an influential person to ensure that they get credit, then they go to the Qanoongo and Tehsildar and give them money to stamp their land documents. After all this, the bank officers still demand bribes for sanctioning the loan. The poor also criticised the high rates of interest that they perceived the banks to charge. Only the rich and better-off can receive credit from the banks. The bank staff do not even talk to us after they have looked at our clothes and shoes. They only give loans to the rich people. (Local analysts, Awaran District) Some of the informal sources of credit that the poor are forced to turn to in the absence of adequate access to formal institutions can also have serious negative impacts on the poor. Analysts in Killa Abdullah said that people can only get loans at the time when they have land or their relatives have land as collateral. If they are unable to repay their loans, they are insulted, kidnapped, or sometimes even murdered.

7.6

Safety nets

In view of the discussion in Chapter Five, it is clear that there would be substantial gains from a system that protects poor people from the shocks
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and other crises that can plunge them into extreme poverty. At least, there should be arrangements for identifying and providing some basic protection to the most vulnerable social categories. In principle, such arrangements exist. In practice, the PPA suggests that they are largely ineffective and inadequate. Zakat and bait-ul-mal were the only formal social protection institutions mentioned by local analysts in Balochistan. However, although a few participants perceived that zakat was easily available and useful because it did not need to be returned, the general view of local PPA analysts was that zakat was both inefficient and corrupt. Zakat received much condemnation as an institution designed to help the poor in times of crisis. A group of male analysts from Kachi said that they had heard that zakat is given to the poor, widows and orphans, but they have never seen a practical example of zakat in their area. In Killa Abdullah, analysts perceived that zakat was distributed amongst the poor in other communities but that in their area, zakat went into the pocket of the zakat chairman. However, the PPA demonstrated that in fact, embezzlement of zakat funds is common in all areas. Analysts in Awaran District explained that the procedure for zakat is very difficult. They stated that if the amount of zakat is Rs. 2000, the poor have to spend Rs. 1000 as a bribe in the office to receive the zakat. In Kahn Zeelag, analysts perceived that 100 people were in dire need of zakat but in the three years preceding the PPA, just 3 had received zakat. Demonstrating the degree to which social and political capital determine who receives zakat, one analyst in Panjgur stated: We have given applications to the zakat chairman, and even wasted our money by taking trips down to his office, but it all leads to nothing. Only those people who are influential and have links with people are able to receive something. A group of women analysts in Khora Chalgari, the better-off sub-site of Kachi District perceived that 5-10 years before the PPA, when there was a local elite (Raees) alive they used to get more zakat, but now after his death they are unable to get zakat. Other forms of aid and support from the government, for instance provision of drought relief and seeds, were also criticised by analysts as being inefficient and corrupt. A male analyst from Kachi explained that government officers come, write down peoples names and ask how many livestock have died but they never come back and people just wait in the hope. When aid is sent, it does not reach the poor analysts in Killa Abdullah said that wheat seeds had been provided for distribution among those affected by drought, but the poor did not receive it because they did not know it had been sent; fodder had also been provided but was taken by the malik and other elite and influential people. In times of crisis, it is clear that the poor are unable to rely on formal, publiclyprovided safety nets such as zakat and bait-ul-mal. The poor rely on informal local support systems, often based on kinship. Female analysts in Kachi also

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stated that relatively better-off people give money or wheat to the needy. They also sometimes give alms in the form of livestock, or distributing sweets, meals and clothes amongst the poor. In urban Pushtoon Darah, the poorest sub-site in Quetta, male analysts explained that there are rich people in the city who give donations to the poor. They also said that there are social organisations in the city that help the poor and needy people. The aid given by the Edhi Centre is provided when urgently needed and it provides a lot of facilities to the poor such as ambulances and food services.

7.7

Civil society institutions and organisations

Some civil society organisations exist in the PPA sub-sites, although the coverage appears uneven. In Kharan, young male analysts stated that their welfare society, the Welfare Society Mashkel, has provided services in health, education, ID cards and sports. It has also mobilised resistance to drug abuse, and assisted people in removing sand. We took steps to remove sand from schools, we admitted poor children in school, gave books to poor children, took action against absence of teachers, and took care of the staff. (Young male analysts, Kharan District) Another organisation in Kharan is the Kallag Social Welfare Association. In Pushtoon Darah, in urban Quetta, male analysts expressed that a local organisation, Anjuman e Nowjawanan Pushtoon Darah, has had a positive impact in the area. When problems regarding electricity, water or gas occur in the area, the organisation approaches the appropriate institution to try to resolve the problem. Other analysts in Quetta said that a local social organisation headed by Naeem Khilji had a positive influence in their area. Whenever people have a problem, they contact the representatives of the local organisation and they arrange a solution. Due to the authority of Naeem and other people under him, a watchman was appointed in the area and incidents of theft have been reduced. A group or women also said that due this social organisation roads have also been constructed. However, other sites have had less success with civil society organisations: analysts in Kachi said that there was an organisation formed by the Balochistan Rural Support Programme (BRSP) for the construction of a water tank, but that it is now defunct due to the non-functioning of BRSP. They said they had no formal or informal institutions in their area.

7.8

Security and justice

Insecurity, or an inability to obtain justice, can push even better-off households into poverty. Across the sites, analysts perceived that the responsibility for providing security and justice lay with the government however, again, there was general dissatisfaction with the government institutions responsible. Access to justice was perceived to be difficult for the
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poor, but much easier for the better-off and rich. Analysts in Bazdad, the poorest sub-site of Awaran District, explained that the poor have no access to justice because it requires money and only the rich can afford it. They said that there is corruption in the legal institutions and if people give Rs. 20,000 to the judge or the lawyers, they are bound to win the case. Analysts in Gawadar stated that most people do not even bother going to the court for their rights because they know that justice is hard to acquire, and very expensive too. An influential person occupied my land. I could not fight him because I am a poor man. I filed a case against him, wrote an appeal and still the decision was given in his favour. (A poor male analyst, Gawadar District) In Pushtoon Darah, the poorest sub-site in urban Quetta, a group of female analysts stated that the institutions providing justice and security were not satisfactory. If there are any disputes or problems, people are reluctant to go to the police station and judicial institutions because they suspect that these institutions will not provide them justice even if they spend unlimited resources, time and energy. Other analysts in Quetta stated that police oppression is one of the main threats in their lives. The police harass people even though they have not committed any crime and demand bribes for everything. Whenever a crime is committed, the police leave the criminals and start harassing innocent citizens and demanding money from them. Given the general dissatisfaction with the efficiency and transparency of justice institutions in Balochistan, poor people rely heavily on informal or semiformal institutions to provide justice and security. Women analysts in Pushtoon Darah stated that whenever there is a dispute in the area, people contact the local influential tribal leaders because they are able to solve the problems and their justice is very satisfactory. They neither demand bribery nor money for the solution of disputes and their justice is also quick. A group of women in Killa Abdullah stated that the only source of justice in their village is the jirga. Many local analysts perceived that the jirga delivered fair and quick justice, and that people generally accept the decisions because they perceive that all issues are discussed openly and there is no interference from government only in rare cases were injustices thought to occur. However, other analysts in Killa Saifullah felt that while justice was their right, even in the tribal jirga system the poor are ignored. Other analysts pointed out that women have no representation on the jirga and have no access to justice or their rights. One analyst explained one example where two persons had a dispute over land with another person who was well-off. The jirga passed a decision in favour of the rich person because: The people from the jirga have their own interests: they can get something from a well-off person but not from someone poor like me.

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In the PPA sites situated in border areas, the Frontier Corps (FC) also received much criticism. Men in Kharan explained that even though the border with Iran was now more open for people to cross and engage in some trade, the FC demand bribes and have links with influential people so the possibilities for poor people to benefit are reduced. The FC are regarded as being rude and insulting to women they generally have a bad reputation amongst local analysts. While local analysts in the PPA sites held generally negative perceptions of formal government institutions providing security and justice, there were some exceptions. In Qaisar Colony, the better-off sub-site in Quetta, critical security conditions and poor performance of the local police prompted a local representative, Naeem Khilji, to contact higher police authorities and ask them to increase patrolling in the area. Because of this, the law and order situation has improved. One analyst in Kharan, a police department employee, perceived that the blame for increasing crime in the area lay with the community because they do not cooperate with the police. He said that because it is a tribal area, the tribes to which the dacoits belong give them protection if communities cooperated with the police, he felt that crime would be reduced. However, given distrust and dissatisfaction expressed by most local analysts across the PPA sites, it would seem that the police and justice institutions have a long way to go before the poor have confidence in their ability to provide quick and fair justice.

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CHAPTER EIGHT LIVELIHOOD STRATEGIES AND OUTCOMES

8.1 Introduction

Central to the sustainable livelihoods framework are five types of assets or capitals (human, natural, social, political and productive) and the ability of poor people to draw upon these in order to build a livelihood. The PPA process in Balochistan has enabled poor people to examine the assets which they have access to, or are denied access to. Their findings are reported in detail in Chapter Four. To achieve the objective of sustainable livelihoods it is important to promote choices, opportunities and diversity. Choices and opportunities are influenced and determined by the level of access to and control over a variety of livelihood assets, as well as policies, processes and structures. In many cases across all the PPA sites in Balochistan, access of the poor to assets or capitals is limited or restricted. Equally critical to the livelihoods approach is the nature and extent to which these assets interact with markets; the vulnerability of individuals, households and groups to shocks, trends and seasonal shifts; and the strategies used by poor people to cope with them. Many of these external influences are outside of peoples control. In Balochistan, poor people are vulnerable or subject to various shocks, seasonal changes and trends. Analysts perceived these to include drought, unemployment and reduced job opportunities, illness, death, and increasing environmental degradation. In addition, the poor face socio-economic and institutional constraints resulting from the way markets, institutions, policies and processes influence their use of assets to develop livelihood strategies. In Balochistan, analysts identified a key constraint as the lack of institutions responding to the needs of the poor. Even those institutions that do exist are often not responding effectively to the needs of the poor, either through inefficiency or through corruption. Zakat, a formal safety net, is widely perceived as corrupt, and the police and justice systems are also inaccessible to the poor. Poor people adopt various strategies using their assets to deal with these external influences. These strategies can be either positive or negative depending on the availability of assets and the influence of policies and institutions. However, the more limited the assets available to the poor, the more their options are reduced and the more vulnerable they are. Some of the strategies identified by local analysts are described in the following section, together with an analysis of the livelihood outcomes they result in.

8.2

Strategies and outcomes

In the rural PPA sites in Balochistan, the dependence on natural capital has traditionally been very high. However, increasingly high levels of environmental degradation and recent persistent drought conditions are
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causing traditional livelihoods to become unproductive and/or unsustainable. The lack of rain has caused crops to fail and livestock to die. Selling firewood from the mountains may provide an alternative for some people but forest resources are also declining due to over-cutting and drought. The tremendous pressure on natural resources means that poor people increasingly have to rely on other forms of capital. Local skills and knowledge of embroidery and mat making, for instance, are increasingly being utilised as a source of livelihood. In some areas where only women were traditionally involved in these activities, men are becoming involved; and in other areas where these skills were traditionally used for household consumption only, markets are being sought in which to earn an income through selling products. These strategies are more successful where produced capital for instance, roads enables increased access to markets. However, although these may offer an alternative to agriculture or livestock production in the short-term, they may also reduce the asset base of the poor in the longer-term and increase future vulnerability levels. For example, the increasing number of households relying on peesh (a bush) for the production of mats may ultimately reduce the availability, especially during drought conditions. And while male analysts (contrary to female analysts views) perceived embroidery to be more profitable than other alternatives, the women who become involved in this activity not only have an additional burden placed upon their already heavy workload, but may also suffer health problems thus lowering their levels of human capital. Both produced and human capital are important in alternative livelihood strategies sought by men in Balochistan. With drought affecting labour requirements in agriculture, off-farm employment is increasingly a strategy adopted by men in Balochistan. In Killa Abdullah, many of the people who were dependent on agriculture now work in hotels. Most young people who were labouring in the fields or cultivating their own lands are plying handcarts. In some cases, former agriculturists are now working in coalmines. In hotel labouring we work hard but get very little. We work from six oclock in morning to 12 oclock night and get between Rs. 1500 to 2000. We get home once in a year and it is too hard on us. Seeking off-farm employment often means migrating to other areas where employment is more available, either within Balochistan or further away. Men from Awaran moved to Turbat and Gawadar in search of labouring jobs as availability in these areas was perceived to have increased. However, men from Soomari in Gawadar are also being compelled to move from their barren lands which have become unproductive due to the drought to nearer the coast so that they can take up daily wage labour in the fishing industry and on boats. For those with more access to financial capital, migration overseas was an option often leading to a more secure move out of poverty. However, opportunities were perceived to be decreasing in the Gulf States where people had worked before.

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However, being able to diversify into other livelihood activities or move to other areas requires access to financial capital and/or education and training often lacked by the poor. Both formal and informal institutions play a vital role in creating an enabling environment for people to sustain and enhance their livelihoods strategies and opportunities. PPA analysts in Balochistan generally perceived that government institutions were failing to address the needs of the poor. Government institutions that are mandated to provide services in health and education vital to increasing levels of human capital are failing to do so effectively. Even when there are alternative private options available, the poor cannot afford them. Formal credit providing institutions are inaccessible to the poor they are unaffordable and corrupt. Poor households have to obtain loans from shopkeepers and from the better-off in their villages. When these options are not available, the poor turn to professional moneylenders. When the debt increases to proportions that are just not repayable, the poor are forced to sell their assets in some cases even daughters are sold to pay off debts. Access to justice provided by the formal state institutions such as the police and judiciary was found to be inequitable, corrupt and inaccessible by the poor. Finally, publicly provided social protection systems such as zakat and bait-ul-mal were ineffective and non-transparently administered most poor households do not benefit from them. The result of this failure of state institutions is that people rely more on informal institutions, particularly in the areas of social protection and conflict resolution. In the face of these difficulties, some analysts suggested that social cohesion, or capital, is increasing in their areas: people help each other when in difficulty by contributing money or work collectively in the construction of houses and in the harvesting of crops. However, analysts disagreed with this view and stated that social cohesion has diminished due to the difficulties people are facing. It is not always possible for the poor to adopt alternative livelihood strategies. In many cases they do not have the skills (human capital) or they may not have sufficient produced capital in their area. In many cases people just cope as best they can the opportunities to devise long-term sustainable livelihood strategies are limited. Drought-stricken rural Balochistan currently offers very few alternatives for poor people.

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CHAPTER NINE POLICY IMPLICATIONS

9.1 Introduction

As emphasised at the beginning of this report, a PPA is not just a new type of research study. It is a process, intended to lead from a better understanding of poverty and its causes to more effective policies and actions. It works by building new constituencies for anti-poverty action and promoting greater accountability of decision makers to poor people. The PPA in Balochistan was therefore organised as a partnership involving numerous stakeholders at different levels, including provincial government, NGOs, officials in the districts and local people in the selected PPA sites. It is in this spirit that this chapter discusses the policy implications of the PPA. The chapter is offered as a contribution to a process of collective reflection on the action-implications of the PPA findings. All areas of public policy and private and non-governmental effort are open to consideration in the light of the PPA results. However, the results are particularly relevant to the efforts currently under way to develop a wideranging dialogue about poverty reduction strategies for Pakistan and Balochistan. The basic research questions that the PPA sought to address were summarised in Chapter One as: Who are the poor and who are the better off? What assets do the poor have, and how do they construct their livelihoods? What have been the principal changes for people over different periods of time, and what factors have influenced these processes? What resources, socio-economic and gender relationships, organisations and institutions are relevant to different groups among the poor? The findings from these three questions were used, in combination, to answer a fourth question: What scope is there for improvement in public policies, institutions and regulatory frameworks, and what other changes would increase the opportunities open to poor people? For each of the first three questions, this chapter identifies the main thrust of the fieldwork findings and considers how to answer the fourth and final question. The PPA approach does not assume that only one kind of knowledge is important in designing policies to reduce poverty. Different kinds of data and forms of analysis have complementary strengths and weaknesses. However, there is no substitute for starting from the perspective that poor people themselves have on their situation. This is important to compensate for the prejudices of those who believe they already know what

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poor people need or that aggregate statistics are a sufficient tool for policy making. The poor have a comprehensive understanding and knowledge regarding the causes and nature of their poverty, and of their rights, many of which are being denied. They are equally articulate about actions that need to be taken in order to address their situation. Perhaps the most significant implication for policy makers to come out of the PPA process is the degree to which analysts perceive that government failure contributes to the persistence of poverty. While the analysts in Balochistan did not hold government responsible for creating poverty, they certainly feel that government has not provided adequate relief, safety nets, or support and opportunities for the poor to move out of poverty on a long-term basis. Despite this, people feel that the government is capable of doing more: the state and its institutions are perceived as their hope for the future and people have high expectations. This places a great responsibility on policy makers within government to produce strong and effective policies and strategies that will contribute to long-term and sustainable poverty reduction. At the same time there were widespread concerns about institutions outside of government. In particular, zakat is failing to provide adequate social welfare to the poor; and the jirga, although widely recognised as an important decision-making and justice providing institution, is also failing to provide adequate representation to low castes, minority groups and women. Policy analysis has to take into account the experience of different social groups among the poor. Womens perceptions of denial of rights within social institutions (ie community, household, justice, and government service providers) that exclude, marginalise and abuse them need to be heard by policy-makers. The views and experiences of people categorised as low caste should also be given full and equal consideration during policy-making processes.

9.2

Reducing poverty, strengthening livelihoods

The livelihood strategies adopted by poor people are complex. They are dynamic and rely on a range of different activities and resources that change according to changing conditions. The resources and assets available to and used by the poor may complement or even substitute for one another. The implication for policy makers is that interventions to support and strengthen livelihoods and reduce poverty should not focus exclusively on one type of asset or capital. Although the poor, especially in rural areas of Balochistan, rely heavily on natural capital, access to and control over natural assets and resources are extremely unequal. This is both a fundamental cause of poverty and an effect of poverty, with important policy implications. For example, in the Panjgur subsites, just a few individuals own half of the total land area. Influential people allocated forest and barren agricultural land to themselves as previously nomadic populations started increasingly to settle in one place. The concentration of landholding not only reduces the assets with which poor

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people can develop livelihood strategies, but also creates opportunities for the exploitation and control of poor people. Debt bondage and insecurity of employment or tenancy enable landlords to maintain the dependency of poor people upon them and limit opportunities for development and sustainable poverty reduction. PPA participants expressed their support for land distribution policies, explaining that if the government distributes land ownership rights to the landless, farmers will have increased interest, motivation and opportunities to engage in productive agriculture and increase income. However, although land distribution is an important step to reducing exploitative social relationships and increasing the resource base of the poor, alone it will do little to increase rural livelihood security in the face of persistent drought conditions prevailing in Balochistan. Access of the poor to other forms of capital especially productive and human will also need to be increased if poor people are to reduce their reliance on a limited range of assets, and increase the contribution of their assets to their livelihood security. For instance, barren agricultural land requires investments in irrigation facilities and infrastructure, together with the establishment of institutions to ensure fair delivery of water, if it is going to become more productive despite the drought. If canal water was provided to us the lands would become more fertile, we will have jobs in our own village and we will not need to migrate to other areas. The water would also help produce fodder for our cattle. As a result their milk and meat production would increase and, therefore, our nutritional requirements will be met in a satisfactory way. Analysts in rural areas also expressed the need for investments in veterinary services (including affordable vaccinations against livestock diseases), tubewells, provision of seed, and assistance with mechanical cultivation equipment. The government should examine how appropriate these provisions would be in terms of strengthening the agricultural productivity and livelihood security for poor farmers. Strategies which ensure that any investments in these areas do not predominantly benefit the better-off or rich rather than poor farmers should also be examined. In coastal sites, foreign trawlers and boats from other parts of Pakistan are contributing to declining fish stocks. The government should examine how to control over-fishing in order to conserve adequate fish stocks so that the livelihood strategies of small-scale fishermen in Balochistan are protected. Access and entitlements to public assets and state-provided services are highly skewed. These are assets and services that would, if effective, enable people to increase their levels of human and other capitals. The PPA revealed highly inadequate levels of provision of physical infrastructure, affordable credit, health care and education across the PPA sites. Even when physical infrastructure is in place, services remain unavailable or of extremely low quality. In particular, public policy implementation needs to be improved in order to enable poor people to build up their levels of human capital through

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access to high quality basic services. However, local analysis shows clearly that entitlements to publicly provided services are highly determined by social institutions that skew provision and exclude on the basis of gender and caste. In seeking to redress inequities in entitlements the political directorate needs to reflect on legislative and policy design implications of rights fulfilment. Many of the informal institutional dynamics that underpin sets of entitlements are informal and susceptible only to long-term change through policy intervention. Specific practices, however, such as domestic violence or school withdrawals, can be subject to greater legislative and judicial intervention by the state. The sociocultural norms that underpin many institutions can change through political will and strategic intervention. Where instances of formal institutional bias or neglect in the implementation of policy emerge, these need to be addressed directly by those public officials who have a responsibility to ensure delivery of certain rights. Education was seen as a right by analysts across the PPA sites. Access to education facilities, however, was generally perceived to be low, especially for girls. For the benefits of education to contribute to increased levels of human capital amongst the poor and women, policy makers need to ensure that education is easily accessible to all, regardless of location, social status or gender. Whilst the need for more school facilities was expressed across the sites, policy makers also need to give attention to ensuring that demand-side constraints on education for girls and the poor are addressed. Education needs to be affordable to all, and cultural norms that result in low importance being placed on the education of women need to be reduced. Government schools were also considered to be providing low quality education. The important implication for policy-makers here is that not only is it important to increase access to and affordability of education facilities, but the quality of education must also be raised. Committed and better-trained teachers must be employed within the education service in order to ensure that the quality of education is improved and factors that might lower quality, for instance staff absenteeism, are minimised. Good health also contributes to higher levels of human capital. As with education services, the provision of government health services and facilities, and the quality of service was generally low. Access was also often determined by gender, with women being unable to be treated by male medical staff even when staff were available and working. Ensuring that accessible, affordable, functioning healthcare facilities exist, and are providing good quality services regardless of location, gender or social status, should be the aim of policy-makers. Analysts in Kharan explained that functioning health services at the village level would reduce many of their difficulties and decrease the need to go to Karachi, thus reducing unnecessary and, in many cases, unaffordable costs.

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Women analysts also expressed a need for increased reproductive healthcare facilities. A major factor contributing to community level poverty in the Balochistan PPA sites was physical isolation. The provision and maintenance of good quality road infrastructure would also help improve accessibility of poor people in isolated locations to basic services and facilities, for instance in education and healthcare. It would also increase accessibility to markets and employment opportunities, thus helping to increase the diversity of livelihood options available to the poor. We are far away and isolated from the main city so government services do not reach us. There are certain people who are benefiting from the government and whose standard of life is improving, but we are not amongst them. Analysts also perceived that the provision of other forms of produced capital would significantly improve their ability to establish sustainable livelihood strategies. Electricity was commonly perceived as contributing to alternative livelihood opportunities and increasing well-being. Analysts in Kachi stated that the provision of electricity generates business activity and enables increased connection with other areas. However, whilst the provision of utilities such as electricity and gas can be beneficial, measures must be in place to ensure that the institutions providing these are efficient and not corrupt, and that the costs are affordable to the poor. Access to formal credit-providing institutions is extremely limited for the poor in Balochistan. Poor people are compelled to rely upon informal sources including family, shopkeepers, moneylenders and landlords. However, credit obtained from moneylenders and landlords often comes at a heavy price that is incompatible with reducing poverty the poor are instructed which candidate to vote for; tenants are forced to work as bonded labour until their debt is paid off; and households are even compelled to sell their daughters to pay off debts. These forms of conditions will continue to cause poverty unless alternative options for affordable credit are provided. Policy makers should examine how to provide affordable and fair credit to the poor through formal institutions. I am jobless and if I get a loan I can set-up a small shop and also sell fish in the villages. Unemployment was perceived to be a major problem for the poor. Policy makers should consider the effect of policies on employment opportunities, and examine how the government can encourage job creation within both the state and private sectors. Consideration should also be given to legislation aimed at ensuring decent employment conditions that provide the poor with protection against exploitation. A group of the men mostly comprising of local representatives and educated people in Qaisar Colony, the better-off sub-site in Quetta, suggested that the government should encourage cottage industries in the area:

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This will benefit our area in two ways unemployed people will get jobs and local raw materials will be used in better ways to give benefits to the people. Other analysts also recommended increasing use of currently under-utilised natural resources, for instance precious stones in Loralai which one analyst suggested could be excavated and sold, generating both income and employment. However, given the degradation of natural resources experienced across Balochistan, government policy makers need to consider the long-term impacts of natural resources use and ensure that the benefits reach poor local communities rather than outside interests.

9.3

The vulnerability context in Balochistan: implications for policy-making

However, in order to reduce poverty in a sustainable manner, simply increasing access to and control over resources is unlikely to be sufficient on its own. While some poverty is chronic and reproduces itself across the generations, people and households also fall into poverty as a result of their vulnerability context; the external shocks, trends and cycles that influence their ability to use their assets strategically in pursuit of livelihoods. In the rural Balochistan PPA sites, a large majority of the population depend on agriculture and natural resources for their livelihoods. The poor are critically dependent on land, water, forests, livestock and marine resources. Therefore, events and policy actions that result in the destruction or degradation of natural resources have major impacts on poor people. A major policy implication here is that effective policies for managing natural resources and preventing natural disasters must be included in any poverty reduction strategy. Policies that directly address these events are required, together with an emphasis on reducing the negative impacts that policies may have on the vulnerability of the poor. Social protection policies and safety nets play an important role in protecting the poorest and most vulnerable by helping them to cope with shocks and negative impacts on their livelihoods. The provision of social protection is a fundamental component of any poverty reduction strategy. However, social protection policies and strategies should not deal solely with the symptoms of poverty they must also reduce the actual risk or probability of shocks, mitigate the potential impact of shocks and create an enabling environment to adapt and strengthen livelihoods. Simply aiding people to cope with the impact of a shock once it has occurred is not sufficient. This implies a focus in policy making on three complementary areas: risk reduction; impact mitigation; and coping with impacts. Risk reduction strategies can be either informal mechanisms at individual, household or community level, or formal, publicly provided mechanisms. For example, severe illness is a damaging shock in both rural and urban areas risk reduction strategies could include preventative health interventions to reduce
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the probability illness. Unemployment is also a major shock, especially where household livelihoods are based on wage earning. Formal, publicly provided strategies to reduce the risk of unemployment include sound macro-economic and labour market policies, and support for training to increase levels of human capital. Although there is a need to move social protection policies away from the traditional focus of providing support with coping with impacts to include risk reduction and impact mitigation, policy makers should recognise a major finding of the PPA the fact that poor people get very little assistance in coping with the impacts of major shocks and disasters on their livelihoods. This is a major cause of impoverishment for many poor people in Balochistan today. 9.3.1 Social welfare Formal, institutionalised forms of social protection such as zakat and bait-ulmal that currently exist in Balochistan were widely perceived by analysts to be failing the poor. There was a common perception amongst poor analysts that funds for these safety nets were routinely embezzled, or distributed to family and friends of the zakat committees. The government must examine policies and strategies that will ensure the transparent, accountable and efficient disbursement of social protection funds. Alternative and additional safety net schemes also need to be examined. Analysts in Panjgur said that the government should provide food items such as wheat flour and sugar at subsidised rates to the poor, and also free rations for those affected by drought. It was perceived that this would be a great relief for the poor. Analysts in Pushtoon Darah also expressed the need for assistance with housing and rent costs. However, it was also suggested that government assistance should be provided directly to the poor so that it does not have to pass through the hands of local influential and powerful people. Analysts stated that this would reduce the potential for corruption and embezzlement by the rich. Policy makers should examine methods of ensuring the correct distribution of aid from social welfare and protection programmes.

9.4

Social relations

The ability of the poor to improve their livelihood potential and move permanently out of poverty is strongly determined by social relationships. The accessibility of the public provided services and institutions discussed above is also affected significantly by social relations. Local power relationships and the scope for political change, together with the continuance of oppressive gender rules that degrade women all contribute to maintaining higher levels of poverty within certain social groups. Inequitable social institutions therefore need to be addressed in any effective poverty reduction strategies. Local analysts in many PPA sites explained that their views were ignored. Policy makers should examine how to create political space in which the currently

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marginalised and unheard can have a voice with which to challenge and transform these institutions. 9.4.1 Gender and poverty Across all sites, gender is the basis for much discrimination and poverty. Women are clearly considered to be less equal than men in Balochistan, and women and girls are the most vulnerable members of households. Women face lower levels of access to resources and rights compared to men, whichever perceived category of well-being they belong to. Rich men have more rights than rich women; poor men have more rights than poor women. Girls are denied access to education because they are girls; women are denied access to proper healthcare because they are women. Womens mobility is restricted, they are denied access to justice and their voice in decision-making is restricted, even in decisions of whom they will marry. The manner in which traditional gender-based biases and discrimination affect the access of women and girls to publicly provided services and institutions should be of fundamental concern to policy-makers. The promotion of gender equity in the traditional societies of Balochistan requires both attitudinal changes and a greater degree of awareness of the importance of womens rights within these cultures, and the provision of greater development opportunities for them by government and other agencies. However, any policies or strategies designed to address supply-side constraints in the provision of effective public services must be accompanied by policies to address cultural or demand-side constraints on access. A particular policy implication coming out of the analysis is that the practice of valwar (bride price), which effectively reduces the status of women to that of commodities, should be banned. It is unacceptable in both civil and Islamic law that women and girls are threatened by and subject to harassment, abuse and violence; that they are considered commodities to be bought and sold; and that they do not have access to justice or their rights. If gender-based poverty, violence and denial of rights are to be reduced, then cultural institutions such as valwar must be addressed through strong and effective policies and strategies backed by the political and judicial will to implement them fully. Perpetrators of these crimes must be punished regardless of their social, economic or political status. 9.4.2 Caste, ethnicity and poverty Low caste groups, for instance Darzada, are also discriminated against in terms of access to resources and rights. The general exclusion of low castes from mainstream village life and decision-making is a very important area requiring policy consideration at various levels. Legislation, policies and strategies should be examined that engage service delivery agencies to ensure that minority groups are not discriminated against in the provision of social services, employment opportunities, or in the dispensation of justice.

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Tribal conflicts were perceived to be increasing in frequency. In urban Quetta, this affected peoples livelihoods as employment and businesses suffered when conflicts occurred. Policy makers should examine strategies to reduce social, tribal and ethnic tensions that lead to conflict, insecurity and increased vulnerability.

9.5

Conflict, security and access to justice

Insecurity is in many ways the most basic poverty problem without security, long-term sustainable development is difficult to achieve. Addressing this issue should clearly be considered a central plank in any political platform or policy initiative claiming to promote development and reduce poverty in Balochistan. Analysts in Quetta stated that in order to counter the critical situation of law and order in their area, the government should increase police patrolling and make police officers responsible to local representatives. In Kharan, some analysts were positive about the fact that the present government is taking bold steps against criminals and also against corruption. Corruption is a disproportionate burden on the poor. In Balochistan, the police and Frontier Corps demand bribes from the poor; utility bills are fraudulently increased by officials; and access to government institutions is determined by relationships with more powerful individuals, but often comes at a price. The implication for policy-makers is that corruption must be addressed if government services and institutions are to contribute effectively to enabling people to move out of poverty. The bold steps appreciated by analysts in Kharan should be examined so that appropriate lessons can be learnt for other areas. Poor people have no access to government institutions. Although a majority of these institutions are built for the poor, the rich have monopolised these institutions. (A poor analyst, Loralai District) Equitable access to formal justice systems is extremely limited for the poor and marginalised of Balochistan. Analysts expressed their dissatisfaction with the expense and time taken in the formal justice system and generally preferred informal institutions such as the jirga. However, even these informal institutions are perceived to have problems with their representativeness: the composition is largely determined by caste, wealth, influence and gender. Women and low castes are excluded from these institutions. Reform and strengthening of both formal and informal systems is needed if they are to effectively discharge their functions. Analysts expressed a need for the government to examine and introduce reforms that will ensure that the police and judicial institutions are responsive, poor-friendly, and able to dispense quick, affordable and fair justice. At the same time, local analysts stressed the need to develop capacity of the jirga and other traditional

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institutions, and empower them further so that they were better able to make judicious and knowledgeable decisions on local conflicts.

9.6

Policy summary

A group of analysts in Quetta stated, We have expectations that the present government will initiate activities for the betterment of the poor people. The PPA participants across Balochistan were clear regarding their rights; who was denying people rights and why; and how the denial of rights was responsible for much of their poverty. The policy points and implications raised or re-emphasised in this chapter are summarised below along four broad lines that will contribute to a route out of poverty and fulfillment of perceived basic rights. 1. Increase access to, quality of, and control over resources and assets Effective policies for managing natural resources are essential to reducing poverty in Balochistan The government should examine strategies to reduce inequitable distribution of land In addition to equitable land distribution policies, investments in infrastructure, services and institutions should be examined to enable increases in productivity Interventions to support and strengthen livelihoods, and reduce poverty, should not focus exclusively on one type of asset or capital Access to affordable education and healthcare must be equal for all, regardless of gender, caste or social status Staff absenteeism is a major factor in determining access to and quality of public services and must be addressed The quality of basic services must be monitored and improved The provision of basic infrastructure plays a vital role in increasing access to employment, markets and basic services The government should implement policies and strategies that will increase employment opportunities, together with legislation to protect workers from exploitative employment practices 2. Reduce vulnerability and provide adequate social protection The government should take a broad view of social protection to include risk reduction, impact mitigation and coping strategies Current formal safety net provision must be improved by increasing funding, transparency and accountability The government should examine other possible mechanisms for providing social protection to the poor and vulnerable

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3. Eliminate discrimination based on gender, ethnicity or caste Gender-based discrimination must be considered in all policy and strategy formulation to ensure that women benefit fully and are not marginalised further The government must ensure that minority groups are not discriminated against in the provision of social services, employment opportunities, or in the dispensation of justice Both supply side and demand side constraints on the access of women to basic services must be addressed Cultural and traditional discrimination must be addressed through strong and effective policies and strategies backed by the political and judicial will to implement them fully The traditional practice of bride price, which results in the commodification of women, must be addressed Strong and enforceable laws must be implemented to eliminate domestic violence against women Inequitable social relationships resulting in forms of bonded labour must be addressed and eliminated 4. Ensure equal access to justice regardless of gender or social status Addressing the subjects of crime, disorder and police / Frontier Corps corruption should be considered a central focus in any political platform or policy initiative claiming to promote development and reduce poverty Access to affordable and fair justice for the poor and marginalised, and particularly for women, must be increased Perpetrators of crimes must be prosecuted regardless of their social, economic, or political status

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References:
Banuri, T., S.R. Khan & M. Mahmood (eds) (1997) Just development: beyond adjustment with a human face, Oxford : Oxford University Press. Booth, D. & H. Lucas (2001) Desk Study of Good Practice in the Development of PRSP indicators and monitoring systems, report commissioned by DFID for the Strategic Partnership with Africa, London: DFID. Gazdar, H. (1998) Review of Pakistan poverty data, mimeo, London: Department for International Development. GoP (2001) Poverty in the 1990s, Islamabad: Federal Bureau of Statistics PPA team (2001) Pakistan PPA Fieldwork Guide, Islamabad: Planning Commission. Pretty et al (1995) Participatory Learning and Action a trainers guide, London: IIED. Rimmer, M (2000) Reducing poverty in Pakistan: priorities for the Asian Development Bank, mimeo, Manila: Asian Development Bank. World Bank (1995) Pakistan Poverty Assessment, Washington: World Bank. World Bank (2002) Pakistan Poverty Assessment, Washington: World Bank Zaidi, S.A. (1999a) An annotated bibliography of poverty in Pakistan, in UNDP (1999a). Zaidi, S. A. (1999b) Is poverty now a permanent phenomenon in Pakistan?, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol XXXIV, No, 41.

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Appendix 1: Overview of basic research questions and field methods

THEMES & ISSUES POLICY PROBE METHODS

1. Who are the poor?

Perceptions of poverty
What are the local terms for poverty and well-being? Is there a separate word for vulnerability? Are these terms used about individuals, families, and/or communities? What are the characteristics of a household (in order of importance?) that lead people to say that it is either poor or not so poor? What are categories in between very poor and very rich that are recognised by local people? How are the households in the community distributed among these categories at the moment? Has this distribution changed over the last one year, 5 years, 10 years? If yes, why and how? Is the government right to adopt a multidimensional concept of poverty?

How do different groups of participants see the distribution of well-being within the household (male/female; old/young)?

Should government and NGO programmes be mainly about reducing chronic poverty or about shortterm safety nets? If both, what weight should be given to each? Should anti-poverty policy be concerned about reducing gender inequality? If yes, why and how?

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Livelihoods
What are the main elements in peoples livelihood strategies in this area? What assets do they have? Natural capital (including common pool resources) Produced capital (including physical infrastructure and credit) Human capital (nutrition, health, education, local knowledge) Social capital (the benefits of a dense pattern of association nb ask about membership of organisations and institutions) Political capital (power or powerlessness) How do they use these assets in combination in a livelihood strategy? Are there any significant changes in livelihood sources over the past 20-year and 10-year periods? If yes, what are these changes, why have they occurred, and what is the impact of these changes on peoples lives Are government and NGO programmes responsive to peoples livelihood issues? If yes, how?

Have government or non-government policies and programmes contributed to any of these changes? (Probe for examples)

Which sources of livelihood are preferred? And why? What are periods of stress in livelihoods? What are the main type of shocks that different groups of people face? Are some kinds of livelihoods more Can particular prone to risk and shocks? vulnerable groups be identified? How do households cope with these shocks? What is the role of communities, Have government and government and NGOs in helping non-government households cope with these shocks? programmes reduced the risk of vulnerability to shocks? If yes, how? (Probe for examples)

Becoming or ceasing to be poor

Do communities/groups stay poor or rich, or do they move back and forth between these conditions?

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If they move back and forth, why does this happen?

What could be done to stop communities/groups falling into temporary poverty? What would be the gains from doing this? What could be done to assist communities/groups to move from poorer to better-off categories? How could these circumstances be avoided?

What would be a typical story of how a community/group/individual has fallen into poverty? Does vulnerability have any effect on the way people pursue their livelihoods in better times? If some people (households, groups etc) always remain poor, why is this? What would be a typical story of how a community/group/individual has succeeded in getting ahead? What needs to change for the poor to have better opportunities to move out of poverty?

How could these conditions be reproduced?

Perception of rights and entitlements

What is the local word for a right and to what things is it applied? Is it applied in the same way to everyone or in different ways to different groups? What is perceived to be individual rights and entitlement? Do these rights vary between different groups? What is the perceived source of this right? (social, legal, or other means) Do people feel that everyone has a right to a certain standard of living? Are these terms ever applied to publicly provided services? What minimum service standards could reasonably be claimed as rights?

Do people have rights to be healthy, to be educated, and have access to justice?

How are such minimum standards maintained and who should be responsible (the community or the state?) What do people know about their legal entitlements

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Do people have rights of access and ownership over natural and built resources? Do women have the same rights as men in these regards? What can women do when they feel discriminated against? What policies or programmes help reduce/enhance discrimination against women?

2. Main changes affecting poverty and well-being

Has the natural resource base got better or worse (timescale)? If changed, how has that affected peoples lives? Is life felt to be more secure or less? What are the main threats or improvements? How have markets, and access to markets, changed? Markets for: labour (local, national and international), land, water, housing, and produce) Are men and women affected differently by any of these changes? Are the young and old, or different ethnic groups, affected differently? What factors/actions are responsible? Is anything known about environmental policies? What could the authorities do to improve this situation? Why has this happened? Who is responsible? How do people think the law governs these matters?

3. Relevant resources and infrastructure, institutions, and socio-economic relationships

Resources and infrastructure
What natural resources are relevant to different groups within the community and how are they prioritised? Do people make better or worse use of the resources they have than members of neighbouring communities? Is the community/group well served by public or private infrastructure (water, sanitation, electricity, gas, roads, irrigation)

Are there public, NGO or private programmes responsible for upgrading infrastructure? How are these working? How can they be improved?

Institutions

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What problems do different groups within the community face and how are they prioritised?

Do different groups express different problems and priorities within the community (gender/age/well-being status/minority groups)?

Which of these problems do people think they can solve themselves and which do they think they need support from outside? If outside support is needed, from whom (individuals and institutions) is it expected? How are problems needing help from outside prioritised? For different groups, what are the most important formal/informal government/non-government institutions within or outside the community that influence peoples lives positively and negatively? How do different groups rate the effectiveness of these institutions? Which institutions do people think they have some control or influence over? During a financial crisis (losing a job, family illness, crop failure), what institutions do people turn to? How are they ranked in terms of preference?

Are government and non-government institutions/programmes addressing the problems? Is anyone addressing the problems that women or the poor rank highest? Are these concerns reflected in the priorities of community leaders? Is needed external support available? If not, why not?

Are there any recommendations for further improvements?

What are the perceived government and non-government safety nets for the vulnerable? How are they ranked in terms of preference?

What public and private health care facilities are available in the community? Which is the most important basic health provider (government and nongovernment) for different groups in the community? What is an ideal government basic health unit?

Are government programmes mentioned? If so, how are they seen and how could they be improved? Are there any safety nets provided by government or NGO programmes? If yes, what are they, do they reach the poor, and do the vulnerable consider them to be effective? How can health care facilities be improved at different levels: primary, tertiary, etc.

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Which is the most important reproductive health provider (government and non-government) for different groups in the community? What public and private education facilities are available in the community? Which is the most important primary education provider (government and non-government) for different groups in the community? Why? What is an ideal government primary school? How do people rate the quality of health and education services? What are the differences between public and private health and education services? What institutions provide credit? How do different groups in the community rank them in order of effectiveness?

What other services are provided/not provided in the area (agriculture, livestock, irrigation)

Who provides security in the area? And justice? Are the services satisfactory? If not, how can they be improved?

How can the quality of the facilities be improved? How important are private service providers for the poor? Are there any government or NGO programmes that provide similar services? How do they compare? Do credit providers reach the poor? What incentives do service providers face? If they have any discretion in allocating scarce goods or services, how do they decide who gets what? Who ought to provide security and justice in the area?

Socio-economic and gender relationships

Are women better or worse off today compared to the past? In what ways? Are women of different groups (differentiated by class, age, ethnicity, religion, etc.) better or worse off today compared to the past? In what ways? Are there any changes in the roles men and women (of different groups) have traditionally played over the past two or three decades. Why have these changes occurred? What are the impacts of these changes? What areas still need to be addressed by government?

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Who wields real power in the area? How do ordinary benefit/not benefit from this? Is land an important source of power? What is the pattern of land ownership in the community?

Are there any types of socio-economic relationships that make it difficult to move out of poverty (child labour, bonded labour)? Are some people or groups left out of society or excluded from community life or decision making (social exclusion)? If yes, who is left out, why and how? Is the community well organised compared with its neighbours? If yes, why and how are they organized? (Probe for examples) Does it have many organisations that people can decide to join or not join (social capital)? What is the relationship of these organizations? Are they linked? If yes, do they collectively serve as a social network in the community? What kind of transfers and support systems work within these social networks? Are there any elements/events/traditions that promote a bonding in the community as a whole and provide a sense of solidarity? (social cohesion) In what forms and actions is social cohesion expressed? Is there more or less social cohesion than in the past? If there are changes, what are these, how and why have they occurred? Is there more or less crime than in the past? Is there conflict between groups in the community?

Should government policy be concerned with the redistribution of land (land reform)? What are the policy implications here?

What can be done to address social exclusion?

How can social networks be strengthened in a way that they help the poor? How can government support and not undermine these networks?

Is the maintenance of law and order an issue for the poor?

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