Keynote Address
Social workers play the role of catalyst in a society. They connect the needy with the philanthropists, poor with the resourceful, illiterate with the educated ones, sick with healers, unaware with the informed, unskilled with the trainers, disabled with the enablers, non-descript with the known, delinquents with the reformers, abandoned with the caretakers, destitute with the godfathers. Their voluntary spirit and selfless zeal levels off the socio-economic inequities and inequalities. They find the balm for the social wounds, solace for the restless souls, wipe the tears off the eyes of the deprived, drive away the despair and the despondency and herald the hope.
Societies with social workers are societies with hope, though not without inequalities. The Social worker fills the gap between the high and the low, privileged and the unprivileged. All nations and communities that have cared to train social workers, rewarded the voluntary spirit and recognized sacrifice, reaped the rich harvest of happiness and satisfaction. That is the only way to guarantee peace and harmony, bridge the gap between the haves and have-nots and avert social chaos and economic deprivation.
Muslims in India have not adequately nurtured social workers. Few have made a mark in the field. Even the term ‘social work’ is interpreted in narrow terms with limited scope. Helping the needy, doling out charities to beggars, providing shelter to the orphans and destitute, visiting the ailing, organizing the circumcision camps (sunnat e Ibrahimi) for the kids, helping out the Hajj pilgrims is all that constitutes the social work.
The holy Quran provides a broad outlook for social work. It says Ahsin kama ahsanallahu alaik (Do good to others as Allah has done good unto you). While saum (fasting) reminds us of the pangs of hunger undergone by the poor on a regular basis, zakath (2.5 per cent of charities on our annually accumulated wealth) and ush’r (tithe on agriculture produce) have been made mandatory on the faithful to ensure equitable distribution of wealth and care for the poor. The holy Quran addresses the Muslims as khaire umma, those who have been brought into existence to enjoin the good and prohibit from evil. The holy Prophet describes the Deen as Ad-Dinun Nasihah (A system of welfare).
But in the larger world we live today, social work has assumed wider meanings and scope. Indeed, all members of the society require some kind of succour, counseling, words of compassion, a healing touch at some point of time in their lives. With human knowledge, necessities and realm of human activity having expanded, the citizens always look for guidance and solace from some quarters, notwithstanding their social level and economic strata.
The contemporary social worker has to grapple with multifarious social problems and issues and has to tackle them at several levels, from spreading awareness to mitigation to elimination of maladies even while developing legal framework to abolish and execute an apparatus to eradicate certain vices. He has to change with the times and be aware of the modern social norms in order to be in sync with the urges of the times.
As HIV-Aids spreads its tentacles, dowry deaths keep spiraling, drop-out from schools mount, aged and sick are left uncared, marital woes drive women to despondency, kids get abandoned, single-parent homes abound, environment is drained off its vitality, farms lose their fertility, fisheries collapse, calamities render millions shelter-less, juvenile delinquency rises, red light areas thrive, widows find no shelter and ageing spinsters have no takers, the frontiers of social work are limitlessly expanding. Besides, the physically disabled and persons with inadequate sensory faculties (viz, the blind, deaf and dumb, mentally retarded etc) add a vast realm to the existing problems. We might have changed the nomenclature of all these to mentally challenged, visually challenged, differently abled, but realities do not change. As societies grow complex, problems and issues too develop complexity. Simplistic solutions do not work. They need a whole paraphernalia for grassroots activism and advocacy. The statements like ‘implementation of zakath is the best guarantee against poverty’ or ‘harsh punishments will eliminate stealing, bribery, larceny, rape and drug addiction’ might be easier to say. But the fact is that mere harsher punishments will not deter the criminals. The social worker has a role in psychological counselling against delinquency with commensurate support from the Government and the society to rehabilitate the former criminals and addressing the factors that cause delinquent behaviour.
Organised social work is conspicuous by its absence in the Muslim society. Problems only fester if they are ignored. In a plural society, the moral fabric of the society is not amenable to religious solutions. One simply cannot dismiss them. Paradigm shift is inevitable. Prostitution will not go away by pleading for modest behaviour. Nor delinquency will vanish by advocating deterrent punishments. Nor even interest-free mantra can drive away poverty and indebtedness. Problems are rooted in socio-economic context and deeper study and innovative ways have to be found to combat the evils. Advancement in social sciences have even brought about sea change in key concepts like justice and equality. While Islamist theologians would look at justice from merely punitive angle, its rehabilitative, reformative, transitional and compensatory facets have remained totally unknown in the community. Justice has been replaced by a term called ‘equity’ today. Equality and equity are no longer held identical. Much thought has been invested by modern day social and political scientists in developing new frameworks for transformation of societies.
Science and technology have made it possible for the disabled to work, deaf, dumb and blind to employ remaining senses to gain access to livelihood, even leprosy patients to overcome the crippling scourge of the disease and be able to find a place in the society. Braille, sign language, calipers, crutches, wheel chairs, Jaipur Foot, white cane, etc facilitate the handicapped to gain a foothold in the society. Cheshire Homes, SOS Villages, Red Cross, Medicines sans Frontiers, YMCA, Youth Hostels Associations, Christel Houses have risen as brands. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is roping in corporates into the organised social work.
The Government too looks at the voluntary organization (or what is called NGOs in modern day parlance) to reach to the grassroots of the people and disburse funds and create awareness regarding various social maladies and remedial measures. This only brings to focus the need to set up credible organisations which could bring about change with full transparency and accountability.
The community needs to rise to the occasion and rope its youth into social work. Unless a sizeable body of social workers comes into existence, the community would remain a picture of misery, neglect, apathy, pity, and backw-ardness.
Islam provides a firm foundation for the social work in that it urges the faithful to be totally selfless and seek Allah’s pleasure and the reward in the hereafter for all their deeds and actions. It also lays down a list of candidates from among have-nots who deserve the charity and help of the haves. By the grace of Allah, the Muslims have shown enough munificence in setting up Islamic theological schools, orphanages, mosques, scholarship endowments, book banks, coaching classes, sarais (inns), across the country. Even some hospitals and blood banks could be seen here and there. But we need to go beyond. We need to address several new needs of the community as well as people in need from all other communities. The community is yet to initiate institutions like schools for the deaf, dumb and the blind, for the handicapped, for the mentally retarded, centres for those afflicted from HIV/Aids, Home for the aged, rain baseras, working women’s hostels, hostels for the scholars and the youth on excursions, schools for the dyslexics, rehabilitation programmes for the sex workers, sexually abused women and children, homes for the former leprosy patients, centres for taking care of families of prisoners, etc. List could be endless as society’s complexity demands several niche requirements. More than resources, what we require is vision that is not only in sync with times we live in but ahead of time. Next come the human resources. Young people endowed with talents, energy and character need to devote their energies and time for social work on a full time basis. Thirdly, we need to bear in mind that charity needs no involvement. But social work urges engagement. You need to enroll into the life of the needy, the handicapped and the sick in a way that it touches, moves and influences them. Fourth, there is a need to keep a constant watch on changing contours of social work. Today’s needs or disabilities and deficiencies may not stay with the society in days to come. But new wants may emerge tomorrow. All this calls for constant monitoring. Fifth, we need to network between the organisations and institutions that are working for the welfare and the development of the society. This will enable us to benefit from our experiments and experiences, share our resources and bring about homogeneity that is inevitable to develop an identity of our own. I hope this Millat All India Social Workers Conference would help us to move in this direction. May Allah bless the efforts of all those who thought of this unique initiative and will spearhead this movement in future. Ameen!
(Maqbool Ahmed Siraj is a journalist and works for several media organisations including the BBC World Service and Deccan Herald. He has written on issues of Muslim interest for well over three decades. He is deeply socially engaged and works with several NGOs that work in the field of helping students, career counseling, providing orientation to students and professionals, extending relief and rehabilitation, uplifting the underprivileged masses economically. He has travelled widely and provides a fresh outlook on contemporary issues. He can be reached at maqbool_siraj@rediffmail.com