Nasra M. Shah and M. Anwar. Basic Needs, Women and Development: A Survey of Squatters in Lahore, Pakistan.
Sathar, Zeba A.
Nasra M. Shah and M. Anwar. Basic Needs, Women and Development: A
Survey of Squatters in Lahore, Pakistan. Ottawa: International
Development Research Center and honolulu: East-West Center. 1986. 163pp.
This book is essentially the report of a survey carried out to
investigate the basic needs of katchi abadi populations in Lahore city.
Given that about 25-30 percent of Pakistan's population is
estimated to be living in such squatter settlements and with the ever
increasing migration to urban areas, this proportion is only likely to
rise. Thus, this research is most invaluable for urban planners and
demographers in particular, and social scientists in general.
Whereas previous studies have concentrated on examining levels of
urban and rural poverty by using macro-level data, this study is based
on an originally designed empirical investigation of low income areas.
The major aim of the research seems to be the question of whether or not
the fruits of development are in fact "trickling down" to the
poorest classes in the urban areas. By implication, the answer if in the
positive, means that .recent development plans in Pakistan have been
successful, if negative, the answer draws attention to the failure of
development planning to carry out redistributive justice.
Here the two researchers have addressed the research topic through
a cross-sectional survey sample of 32 katchi abadis which constitute 30
percent of the squatter population of Lahore. The focus of the survey
was to interview at least one married woman for each of the 1541
households sampled and, in addition, 487 husbands of some of the
currently married women were also interviewed. Contrary to a priori expectations, most of the katchi abadi inhabitants were not migrants
from outside the city. Thus the mushrooming of katchi abadis may not be
totally attributed to rural-urban migration. Another interesting finding
of the study was that the concept of living in katchi abadis is, in fact
an old one, as a considerable number of residents is reported living in
a katchi abadi for over two decades.
Given the importance of educational attainment, particularly
amongst females, as an important predictor of development related
behaviour, the findings of the survey were quite discouraging. Even
though educational levels of younger women were higher than of older
women, suggesting improvements over time, only 26 percent of currently
married and 21 percent of ever married women were found to be literate
as compared to a 52 percent literacy rate for husbands. Only 4 percent
of currently married women had 10 or more years of schooling.
Another important finding was that of the restriction placed by
purdah on womens' work: only 14 percent of women who observed
purdah worked in the labour force as compared to 29 percent who did not
observe purdah. Thus, for social purposes women in the sample had quite
a restricted position in their households.
In terms of economic measures, the average monthly household income
was found to be Rs 1189 which was about half the average monthly income
for a Pakistani family in 1982-83. Ownership of durable household items
varied considerably across households: interestingly 31 percent owned a
TV which importantly meant considerable exposure to mass media.
One important distinction of the katchi abadis sampled was those
which were to be developed by the Lahore Development Authority and those
that were not: here it was found that fewer respondents were exposed to
stagnant water in the developed katchi abadis but sewerage facilities
were not necessarily better there. The LDA has made special efforts also
to provide safe drinking water in the developed abadis. However, only 9
percent of residents had underground sewerage and only 17 percent had
flush toilets in their houses. Nevertheless, electricity was available
to most households. Thus, safe water and sanitation seem to be the
amenities most deficient in these katchi abadis. In terms of nutritional
intake most women considered their intake to be sufficient to maintain
good health. Information on health status indicates that gynecological problems are the most neglected--and the incidence of infant-child
deaths was very high.
The respondents themselves perceived food and clothing as their
highest priority need and improved level of living, greater amenities
and education of children followed next. The policy-makers, in
comparison, perceived that the focus of the development effort should be
on health and education, on drainage and paved streets, sewerage and
potable water, in that order. They believed that the LDA should provide
these facilities to katchi abadis whereas no such plans existed with the
authorities.
The conclusion of the researchers was that most of the physical
infrastructure required to extend basic needs to the katchi abadi
population was badly lacking and was in fact urgently required. In
particular, girls schools, family planning facilities and immunization and gynecological health facilities were urgently needed. Needless to
say the enhancement of income of katchi abadi residents was seen as a
prerequisite to improving the quality of life of the population.
I fully recommend this book to all those interested in the study of
problems of the urban poor. It is one of the few books of its kind and
addresses the very important issue, the provision of basic needs to the
katchi abadi population, based on a strong empirical approach. It
provides the readers with some important policy recommendations and also
paves the way for future work in the largely unresearched area of urban
squatter settlements and their problems.
Zeba A. Sathar
Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Islamabad.
